Health System in Crisis – Buck Passing Needs To Stop

MEDIA DOORSTOP
WHERE: Royal Hobart Hospital – Campbell Street, Hobart
WHEN: Wednesday 15 July, 2026
TIME: 12 noon

The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation Tasmanian Branch (ANMF) yesterday again attended the Tasmanian Industrial Commission twice with respect to a health system that is in disarray.

ANMF Tasmanian Branch Secretary Emily Shepherd said the ANMF sought directions to arbitrate on the Transfer of Care matter in the Tasmanian Industrial Commission.

“Yet the Department was adamant its was committed to not making ambulance offload mandatory and sought to set up an independently facilitated operational meeting with the ANMF and AMA to determine process to ensure clinical decision-making overrides any mandates, reviewing the use us of non-clinical spaces and appropriate escalation process when the ED is over capacity,” Ms Shepherd said.

“The ANMF remains ever willing to collaborate on access and flow initiatives to improve access to care for all Tasmanian seeking health care.

“However, we are sceptical that this proposed meeting will address our members’ concerns in any meaningful way.”

Ms Shepherd said this commitment comes after a week of utter chaos across the health system with the North West Regional Hospital closing its ICU on Wednesday with patients being moved out of the ICU to other ICUs around the State due to insufficient medical staffing.

“The fact that North-West Tasmania’s only ICU was closed due to insufficient medical staffing is outrageous.

“It shows a complete lack of resourcing and support to ensure that Tasmanians can reliably receive the level of care they need on the North-West Coast.

“ICU patients had to be taken to other ICUs – with one even flown to the RHH – adding additional workloads to these stretched hospitals, not to mention the impact on these critically unwell patients.”

Ms Shepherd said yesterday afternoon the ANMF learnt the Launceston General Hospital was at critical capacity with the entire hospital full and the ED again over capacity.

“The LGH has been operating at critical capacity for more than four weeks.

“Despite the ANMF raising serious concerns about urgent access and flow measures being needed just over a week ago, the ANMF heard yesterday that all flex capacity had been exhausted, no additional private beds could be purchased and all district hospitals were in use, yet capacity still could not be managed.

“The ANMF was contacted by members indicating that admitted patients would just be moved up to the wards and units even though there was no available bed space with members reporting the delivery of front doorbells for these patients to use to alert nursing staff of needing assistance.

“Members were rightly concerned from ED to the wards that the LGH could no longer meet the needs of patients in a safe and appropriate way.”

Ms Shepherd said the ANMF has therefore lodged an urgent application with the Tasmanian Industrial Commission, seeking their assistance in addressing the impact on members delivering safe and quality care along with ensuring a safe working environment.

“The ANMF has stated that despite the LGH being at critical capacity for more than four weeks, limited action was taken till crisis point had been reached.

“The ANMF managed to secure a commitment that a Code Brown (external emergency) would be called overnight if nursing and medical staff in ED determined that capacity in ED was unsafe.

“At the time of attending the TIC, only three beds were available in the entire LGH.”

Ms Shepherd said it was outrageous that despite years of warnings and more than four weeks at critical capacity the Government has not taken action on improving access and flow and capacity at the LGH.

“The State Government keeps blaming the Federal Government – but it’s high time the State Government used some of the $980 million dollars given to them by the Federal Government for use over the next 4.5 years to address these chronic issues of critical capacity at the LGH.

“Our members are tired of the Government’s failure to act falling squarely at their feet in an overcrowded, over-capacity hospital where associated risk ends up being nurses, midwives and their health colleagues’ problem.

“Clearly, there major issues with our health system when you are closing ICU’s and considering calling Code Brown’s just a matter of business as usual.

“Our members deserve more respect and should be afforded a safe working environment, just at Tasmanians should be able to rely on a public health system to deliver safe and quality care.

“It is time the Government took action, rather than passing the buck.”

-End-

Media contact:
Emily Shepherd, ANMF Tasmanian Branch Secretary
Mobile: 0400 884 021
Email: Emily.Shepherd@anmftas.org.au