Health staff warn crucial cancer treatment equipment at the North West Regional Hospital will be forced to sit idle because of a lack of staff available to operate it.
In correspondence seen by the ABC, a senior health employee said short-staffing meant one of two linear accelerators, used to deliver beam radiation treatment to cancer patients, would have to be shut down as of the end of this week.
The $3 million second linear accelerator, which only started operating fully in July, has been used to provide radiation treatment to about 15 patients each day.
Health and Community Services Union assistant secretary Lucas Digney said the shutdown would mean that cancer patients would either have to be put on a waiting list to access radiation therapy or have to commute to Launceston.
"We have a circumstance where a machine worth millions of dollars will lie idle, simply because it can't be staffed," he said.
"Tasmanians who live on the north-west coast and the west coast who are already facing their own mortality because of a cancer diagnosis will either have to be put on a waiting list – a list that will continue to blow out while services are reduced – or they'll be diverted to Launceston, which has its own resourcing issues when it comes to meeting the true demand."
Department of Health deputy secretary Dale Webster did not comment on whether the linear accelerator would be shut down, but said the health service was "actively recruiting for several radiation therapist positions at the North West Cancer Centre in Burnie".
He said radiation therapy services in Burnie were being supported by Launceston's WP Holman Clinic, with staff there assisting with offsite planning work.
"And for the coming weeks, one staff member will relocate to Burnie to support the NWCC with onsite radiation treatment," he said.
"The situation is being monitored daily and patient waiting times – which are within national best practice guidelines – have not been impacted."
In a media release last month, Premier Jeremy Rockliff said the second linear accelerator was a "major boost" for cancer services in the north-west.
"Staffing for the linear accelerator will be increased over time to respond to the growing need for cancer treatment, which will effectively enable the North West Regional Hospital to double its current capacity," he said.
Staff 'distressed' by looming closure
A radiation therapist, who spoke to the ABC on the condition of anonymity, said the looming closure, which she claimed was due to the resignation of another employee, was incredibly unfortunate.
"It's incredibly distressing at any point where our patients have to wait because we know there's a correlation when they get to have their treatment and outcomes," they said.
"Tumours often don't stop growing without treatment."
The employee said staff at the service were incredibly overworked, with the Australian Society of Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy set to hold a session on burnout at its upcoming conference.
"It's sad because people get frustrated and stressed and move on, and then the stress only gets more, not less," they said.
Mr Digney said the situation at the North West Cancer Centre was one that was repeated all across Tasmania's allied health services.
"We have vacant physiotherapy positions at the Royal Hobart Hospital that cannot be filled, we have occupational therapist positions that the government cannot attract anyone into, and the community mental health teams are riddled with unfilled allied health positions that cannot be filled," he said.
"The reality is this directly relates to the conditions and pay on offer in Tasmania, particularly for senior or more experienced allied health professionals."
