An ongoing shortage of pharmacists at the Royal Hobart Hospital has escalated this week with vital health services being cut, anticipated to exacerbate waiting times and ambulance ramping.
Despite being advertised many times, over 30 pharmacist positions remain vacant at the RHH, leaving the state’s pharmacy services operating with a staggering 40% of roles unfilled. This shortage has resulted in certain areas being devoid of pharmacists to conduct admission interviews, develop medication plans, or coordinate medication supply for patients with nursing homes or community pharmacists.
Of utmost concern is the complete removal of pharmacists from the mental health inpatient wards at the RHH, leaving some of the most vulnerable patients in the community without critical pharmaceutical support.
Other areas being impacted include clinical pharmacy services, which will now close 2 hours earlier, the axing of the PPMC program in the Emergency Department – a program proven to decrease patient length of stay, and a shocking 65% reduction of services in the Rapid Assessment Medical Unit. These cuts will risk surges in medication errors, delays in patient discharge and reduced post-discharge patient follow-up.
Zoe Thomas, a pharmacist at the RHH, said, “When the emergency department has a full pharmacy service, patient care is 10 times safer and patients spend 15% less time in hospital. The reduction in the pharmacy service in the ED will lead to more errors with medications and patients staying in hospital longer."
HACSU State Secretary Robbie Moore denounced the government's inaction in addressing the shortages, stating “The crisis in recruiting allied health professionals in Tasmania is not a new one, and the government could overcome this by implementing the market allowance in areas like pharmacy to attract new staff and maintain vital services, but instead, they have chosen to reduce services and put Tasmanian people at further risk. "
“These cuts will significantly worsen hospital bed block and ambulance ramping, and we didn’t think they could get any worse. "