Australian Medical Association - Tasmania

30/07/2026

Today AMA Tasmania joined health, community and lived experience voices at the Community Action on Alcohol Harms Forum in Hobart because alcohol-related harm is not only a social issue it is a health system issue.

The forum came at a critical time, with the Tasmanian Government reviewing the Liquor Act. For doctors, this review is a chance to prevent harm earlier, ease pressure on already stretched services, and put the health and wellbeing of Tasmanians first.

The Tasmanian Government’s Liquor Act Review is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to put harm minimisation at the centre of alcohol policy including practical safeguards around online alcohol sales and delivery, action on ultra-cheap alcohol, and reforms that support the goals of Tasmania’s 20-year Preventive Health Strategy.

Dr Meg Creely, AMA Tasmania President, spoke not only as a GP, but on behalf of emergency department colleagues who see the acute impacts every day: injuries, crashes, violence, aggression towards healthcare workers and pressure on already stretched teams.

She also spoke about the quieter harms seen in general practice; poor sleep, falls, mental ill-health, chronic disease, family strain and cancers, harms that often arrive without an obvious label, but take a real toll on patients, families and communities. Doctors can ask, support, diagnose and treat. But real prevention starts upstream.

If we are serious about easing pressure on Tasmania’s health system and improving access to care, we must be serious about preventing alcohol-related harm. Alcohol policy is health policy.

29/07/2026

A new report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) shows violence against health care workers is getting worse.

The AIHW’s latest report on work-related injury hospitalisations shows assault-related hospitalisations have doubled between 2015–16 and 2024–25.

In 2024–25, the leading causes of work-related injury hospitalisations were:
▪️ 36 per cent — falls
▪️15 percent — assaults
▪️13 per cent — contact with objects (such as every day or industrial objects including knives, tools or machines).

No one should go to work fearing for their safety — including the people who care for us when we are most in need of help.

We are continuing to call on medical workplaces to reduce the risk and impact of violence and keep our health workforce safe.

Read the AIHW’s report: https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/injury/injury-hospitalisations-workers

23/07/2026

23/07/2026

AMA Tasmania is disappointed medical students are still excluded from paid prac placements, despite the scheme being extended to more health disciplines. We know cost-of-living pressures are hitting students hard here in Tasmania, including access to food, transport, accommodation and other essentials. Those pressures should not get in the way of medical training.

The AMA has asked the Federal Health Minister to reconsider this decision and will keep pushing for fairer support for medical students.

The federal government has just extended prac payments to more allied health disciplines — but medical students remain excluded.

Medical students complete about 2,000 hours of unpaid clinical placements. This is a significant barrier for students from low socio-economic and rural backgrounds.

The government’s own workforce modelling points to a critical shortage of doctors in underserviced communities and specialities. Providing means-tested access to prac payments for medical students would be an important step towards addressing this growing challenge.

We are urging the government to urgently reconsider its decision to exclude medical students from prac payments.

Read more: https://www.ama.com.au/media/decision-exclude-med-students-prac-payment-change-makes-zero-sense

20/07/2026

19/07/2026

Tasmania’s health system is in chronic crisis – and the state’s new AMA president says patients are paying the price while governments keep pointing fingers at each other 🏥👉 https://bit.ly/4yLnDkH

15/07/2026

We’ve cut and cut and now we are facing the result.
Right now, Tasmania’s hospitals are under serious pressure.
Patients have been waiting in corridors at the Launceston General Hospital. Tasmanians have been told to avoid the LGH Emergency Department unless it is a genuine emergency. And the North West Regional Hospital ICU has had to modify its operations because there was not enough medical workforce to staff it safely.
These are not isolated problems. They are signs of a health system that has been stretched too thin for too long.
This should not become another blame game between the State and Commonwealth.
Patients do not care which government pays the bill, or whether the blockage is in hospital, aged care or community care.
They just need a health system that is there when they need it.
Tasmania needs investment in beds, staff, infrastructure and community-based care and one health system with single funding and one clear line of responsibility.
No more short-term fixes. It is time to act.

14/07/2026

Northern Tasmanian GP Dr Jerome Muir Wilson has been appointed Vice President of AMA Tasmania. A practising GP based in the north of the state, Dr Muir Wilson brings experience across general practice, urgent care, medical education, clinical governance, board governance and health service development.

He will work alongside AMA Tasmania President Dr Meg Creely to help represent and advocate for doctors across Tasmania.

President Dr Meg Creely said Dr Muir Wilson's appointment further strengthened the organisation's leadership at an important time for the profession. "Jerome understands the realities of modern medical practice because he works in it every day.

Northern Tasmanian GP Dr Jerome Muir Wilson has been appointed Vice President of AMA Tasmania.A practising GP based in the north of the state, Dr Muir Wilson brings experience across general practice, urgent care, medical education, clinical governance, board governance and health service developmen...

10/07/2026

For too long, women have been expected to push through menopause and perimenopause in silence. Hot flushes, exhaustion, poor sleep, anxiety, joint pain and brain fog are real symptoms, and they should not be dismissed.

We welcome the national focus on menopause and perimenopause, but awareness must now lead to practical, joined-up care women can actually access, close to home. Women deserve good information, proper assessment and the right care when they need it. Read AMA Tasmania President Dr Meg Creely’s full Talking Point article, published in The Mercury Newspaper today, on our website. Rebecca White

For too long, menopause and perimenopause have been treated as something women should quietly work out for themselves. That silence has done harm. It has left many women confused by symptoms they were never warned about, uncertain about where to seek help, and too often feeling dismissed when they d...