00:02Work is beginning on a long-awaited mental health and eating disorder clinic in Hobart.
00:08But the health department is under fire over plans to downgrade roles in the sector.
00:13It's nonsensical, it's got to be reversed.
00:16It's going to be a negative influence on remaining employees and it's going to affect recruitment.
00:24Allied health professionals work on various levels.
00:27Level ones are early career, twos are experienced and threes senior clinicians.
00:33The plan is to review vacant AHP3 roles and make some one or two instead.
00:40It is a way of making sure we have the workforce for the future
00:44but secondly that we have allied health professional graduates staying in Tasmania.
00:50Critics say it will heap pressure on senior staff
00:53who will have to spend more time supervising rather than seeing patients.
00:58What we're doing is downgrading the workforce so we're actually going to lose capacity.
01:03I would absolutely reject that there would be any reduction in patient service.
01:08This is part of workforce development planning for the future.
01:12Tasmania's health department has been tasked with finding $700 million in operational efficiencies.
01:18But it says this plan isn't linked to that.
01:21Yes it may mean that we're saving money on threes and fours
01:25but that will be reinvested in making sure that we're growing the graduates.
01:29If it smells like cost cutting and looks like cost cutting, it's cost cutting.
01:33Asma hi.
01:35If it smells like cost cutting and looks like cost cuttings were the most expensive people.
01:35So that's a key.
01:35If you don't know why.
01:35Let's get paid.
01:35After a break.
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