Labor has unveiled plans to keep the GP Assist service running and expand it into a round-the-clock virtual alternative to the emergency department.
Leader Dean Winter announced on Tuesday that, if elected, Labor would rebrand the service as ‘TassieDoc 24/7’.
GP Assist currently gives Tasmanian health workers direct access to after-hours phone support from an on-call local GP.
Service providers including nurses in residential aged care, community hospitals and pharmacies can call a GP Assist doctor if they need advice while caring for a patient after hours.
“GP Assist last year kept 11,000 Tasmanians out of emergency departments. Without intervention from a Tasmanian Labor government, it will close,” Winter said.
Under Labor’s plan, $2 million would be spent to keep the service going for the rest of the year, followed by $4 million a year from next July.
Dr Vasuki Annamalai, a GP practice owner who has worked with GP Assist for five years, warned there would be serious consequences if the service folded.
“Our EDs are already overrun with lots of patients waiting. Some of my patients I send out there and they sit there for seven hours to be seen,” she said.
“Local GPs just can’t afford to be answering the phones in the middle of the night … the same goes for rural doctors who are working 24/7.”
Dr Annamalai said the current system also had its flaws, including outdated IT that stops doctors from sending e-scripts or emails.
“To be honest, we even spend sometimes hours trying to log into the computer, which is not ideal because we’re wasting time,” she said.
The proposed virtual ED would be modelled on Victoria’s system, offering video consultations to better assess patients and keep pressure off emergency departments.
Winter said stepping in to fund what is traditionally a federal responsibility was worth it to avoid losing GP Assist.
“If we have 11,000 more people turning up in our emergency departments, that will put even more pressure on our hospitals,” he said.
“That will cost us more in the long run than to save this service right now.”
Premier Jeremy Rockliff said work is already underway at the federal level to replace GP Assist.
“We want the Medicare system that the federal Labor government are introducing to work like GP Assist. And until it does, we’ll continue to support GP assist,” he said.
