Blame game rages as hospital emergency department overflows

The emergency department at Launceston General Hospital (LGH) reached a critical point Monday night, with over 70 patients overwhelming its capacity. The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) reported more than 45 patients in the waiting room and 28 awaiting inpatient beds. Nurses described patients being treated on trolleys in hallways and waiting areas, with ambulances experiencing ramp delays. "It was a constant shuffling by our members to try and accommodate those sickest patients into the next available bed, and that was incredibly difficult given the limited capacity in the ED and right across the LGH," said ANMF Tasmanian branch secretary Emily Shepherd.

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It was a constant shuffling by our members to try and accommodate those sickest patients into the next available bed, and that was incredibly difficult given the limited capacity in the ED and right across the LGH.

Shepherd stated these issues are a recurring problem at the hospital and that the union has proposed solutions to the state government. "Fundamentally, it's because of a lack of access and flow initiatives that the ANMF have been calling for many years to address the whole of system, to ensure that the system is working not just in the community, not just in our hospitals and discharge, but right across the whole system to improve flow," she explained. "Until we do that, we will continue to see these events where our emergency departments end up being completely at capacity, and just completely blocked."

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Fundamentally, it's because of a lack of access and flow initiatives that the ANMF have been calling for many years to address the whole of system, to ensure that the system is working not just in the community, not just in our hospitals and discharge, but right across the whole system to improve flow.

Tasmanian Health Minister Bridget Archer acknowledged the government is exploring options to address health system pressures, including union suggestions. However, she also pointed to the federal government for additional support. Federal Health Minister Mark Butler, visiting Launceston, urged the Tasmanian government to take responsibility. "There are obviously some issues around the LGH patient flow systems, around staffing recruitment, which the Tasmanian government needs to pay closer attention to," Butler said. "It's time that the Tasmanian state government set about doing the hard work of implementing systems that mean last night's patient activity levels, and the ramping and all of the other things that we've been hearing about over the last 12 or 18 hours, aren't a regular occurrence in the way that they have been for far too long," he added. Butler also highlighted a recent hospital funding deal that will provide Tasmania with an additional $700 million over five years.

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Until we do that, we will continue to see these events where our emergency departments end up being completely at capacity, and just completely blocked.