The state government has committed $40 million to endoscopy services, saying the funding will deliver nearly 9,000 extra procedures and clear the overdue urgent waitlist by mid-2028.
The government says all Category 1 patients waiting beyond the clinically recommended timeframe will be seen by June 30 2028.
Health Minister Bridget Archer announced the investment at the Royal Hobart Hospital today, saying demand had surged since changes to the national bowel cancer screening program.
Archer said anyone who returned a positive result through the screening program automatically became a Category 1 patient, with more Tasmanians reaching 50 and using the free kits.
“Our state-wide endoscopy services plan has delivered record levels of endoscopy activity, with over 27,000 procedures performed across the last two financial years,” Archer said.
She said the federal program had not come with extra resources for states to respond to the outcomes.
The government says the immediate focus will be on bringing down the Category 1 waitlist, with more weekend surgical lists and increased outsourcing through private providers.
Nicole Siggers, RHH assistant director of nursing, said the details were still being worked through. She said options included nurse-led models of care and GP endoscopists.
“People waiting for endoscopies are often waiting for diagnosis,” she said.
“That might be a diagnosis of something such as a cancer.”
Labor MLC Sarah Lovell said the funding would be welcome news for people waiting for a procedure, but was “yet again a bit of a band-aid fix”.
Lovell said the announcement followed a north-west man speaking out a couple of months ago. She said he had been told he needed a Category 1 colonoscopy, which should be done within 30 days, but faced a six to 12-month wait.
“No Tasmanian should have to front up in front of a news camera or have questions asked on their behalf in parliament and go public about a really vulnerable situation to essentially beg for healthcare,” she said.
Lovell said colonoscopies outsourced to the private hospital in the north-west had been performed by surgeons rather than gastroenterologists. She said the results were then sent back to an already stretched public system to be interpreted.
“They’re getting the procedure done, sure, but they’re not getting the results for many weeks afterwards,” she said.
Lovell said the funding did not change the government’s $700 million savings target for health over the next four years.
“Until I hear the treasurer say that the health system doesn’t need to find $700 million in cuts, I will not be satisfied,” she said.
Greens MP Cecily Rosol welcomed the commitment, saying it followed the Greens raising the case of a man waiting for an urgent colonoscopy after a positive bowel cancer screen.
Rosol said the man had been waiting 80 days when the Greens raised his case in parliament in September and had been told there were 1,000 people on the waitlist.
“It shows it is possible to make change in the health service where it’s desperately needed,” she said.
Rosol said long waits caused significant stress for people awaiting diagnosis and treatment, with the risk their illness could worsen.
“The Liberals should invest in other areas of the health service to make the improvements needed, not continue with their $700 million of cuts as planned,” she said.
Archer said there were no cuts to health. She said savings, including about $54 million on locums and agency nurses, were being reinvested into frontline services.
“We are making savings to reinvest into the frontline,” she said.
