Public Hospitals in Tasmania (TAS)

Public Hospitals in Tasmania are run by the Department of Health and Human Services. They are responsible for providing the best possible healthcare for the people of Tasmania and receive funding from the Commonwealth and Tasmanian Governments. Medicare Australia provides the people of Australia free public hospital cover and free visits to see a general practitioner. Medicare Australia was founded in 1984 to overhaul the health system and provide Australians with a new healthcare system better equipped to take health care of Australians. Today Medicare Australia is universally recognized as one of the best health care systems in the world today.

With the Australian population ageing it is putting more and more pressure on public hospitals today. Public hospitals all over Australia have record waiting lists of treatments such as elective surgery. Because of this the Australian Government has launched a new scheme to give Australians a 30% rebate on fees if they take out private health cover with a registered health insurance company. Unfortunately when these rebates were announced a lot of private insurance companies raised their premiums by the same amount as the government rebate. If you do take out private insurance then you will not have the lengthy wait for such treatment as elective surgery and this will in turn ease the pressure on public hospitals to some degree.

If you are have an accident or come down with a sudden illness and need urgent treatment then you may enter a public hospital via the accident and emergency services department of the hospital. Another way is if you see your local GP first and he refers you to a specialist. The specialist can then refer you to a public hospital for treatment that needs to be performed. The waiting time to be admitted to a public hospital generally depends on what your being referred for and what type of treatment you require. The more urgent the treatment you need the sooner you will be admitted.

Because of the lengthy waiting lists in Tasmanian public hospitals today it's important that if you cannot make an appointment that you notify the hospital immediately so they can book someone else into your spot such is the demand of public hospitals. If you are admitted into a Tasmanian public hospital then it's important for you to notify hospital staff if you are receiving ongoing treatment of any other ailments that you may have. This may include any other medications that you are currently taking. If you have recently been taking any recreational drugs then you have to disclose this information as it may determine what type of treatment is necessary for you.

The Department of Health and Human Servcies Tasmania are also in charge of implementing health programmes, aged care and mental care.