Andrew Wilkie (Denison, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Prime Minister, Tasmanians are routinely waiting years to see a specialist and literally dying while waiting for surgery. Congestion at the Royal Hobart Hospital is now so bad that people sleep on the floor of the emergency department waiting area. Inpatients are held for up to five days in the ED until a bed can be found in a ward, including mental health wards. There's even a proposal for patients to be accommodated in alcoves and storerooms. Prime Minister, do you think this is okay, and will you reach out to the uninterested Tasmanian government and help it remedy a public health system beyond its competency to run effectively?

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