Union claims about Home Help are wrong, again. HACSU is worrying some of the most vulnerable in our community with misinformation. I have fielded a number of calls and emails from worried clients of the Home Help program who have been told by HACSU that the service is closing. This is despicable behaviour.
The Tasmanian Government has provided record funding for health and we want it to be used to get the best possible health outcomes.
Contrary to union scaremongering, there is no proposal before the Government to shut down the Home Help service run by the Tasmanian Health Service (THS) in the North.
The Government is determined to give Tasmania the sustainable health system it deserves, and to achieve this we need to do things differently. We cannot continue repeating the same decisions from the past which have created an inefficient health system that fails to provide the same level of health care in Tasmania compared with other jurisdictions.
Staff and unions are well aware that the Home Help program is about to undergo a review, because they have been consulted.
Conducting service reviews from time to time is a normal part of Government business in making sure that services are being delivered in the most effective, efficient and appropriate way. There is no pre-determined outcome and if any changes are recommended following the review, staff and unions will be consulted.
Whatever the outcome of the review, the THS will of course ensure that service continuity for clients and their families is maintained into the future. This is our assurance to the community.
I call on HACSU to stop spreading misinformation and to instead constructively engage with the THS on the review, as the THS has been trying to do through consultation processes to date.
