The nurses’ union has taken what it describes as an “unprecedented step”, providing the health minister with details of two recent patient deaths at Launceston General Hospital.
Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) Tasmanian Branch secretary Emily Shepherd said the information had been given directly to Health Minister Bridget Archer for investigation.
Shepherd said the move came after members felt their concerns were being dismissed, following government claims there was no evidence to support them.
“We have done this in the hope they will actually be investigated and action may finally be taken on addressing the causative factor to long ambulance response times and ED wait times – access and flow,” Shepherd said.
Shepherd said members were “dismayed” by repeated government and departmental assertions that no evidence supported concerns about patients dying after long waits or being treated in corridors.
“The fact that no evidence could be found to identify these deaths is quite alarming as it leads members to question how the Government is even tracking the adverse impacts of long wait times on patient care, if at all,” she said.
She said members witnessed the effects of delays daily, ranging from patients in severe pain unable to receive relief, to those requiring more invasive surgery or intensive care admission after waiting too long for treatment.
Shepherd said the government’s transfer of care policy ensured patients were moved into the emergency department, but claimed timely care and treatment were still not being delivered.
“Deaths will be attributed to the illness or injury that they presented with, rather than caused by delayed care and treatment,” she said.
In a letter to Shepherd on Friday, Archer said the department had reviewed all recent deaths in the Launceston General Hospital emergency department.
She said the review found “all patients received clinically appropriate care and treatment matched to their needs”.
Archer said she had asked Department of Health secretary Dale Webster to examine the new information.
“… It is my clear expectation that adverse patient events such as those you have described must be reviewed thoroughly to ensure we are doing everything possible to prioritise patient safety,” she wrote.
Shepherd said the ANMF remained willing to work with the government on solutions to improve access and flow across the health system.
