'Unacceptable': Labor blasts hospital wait times amid budget cut fears

Premier Jeremy Rockliff defended the government's record on health, and said he was committed to investing in the sector.

Data, published on the government's health dashboard, shows that for the month of April more than half of those attending emergency departments were seen in less than four hours.

This was particularly acute at the Launceston General Hospital (LGH), where 64 per cent of patients waited longer than four hours, but less so at the North West Regional Hospital where that figure was 45 per cent.

The statewide elective surgery waitlist remained more than 8000 names long, similar to one year prior, with patients waiting 200 days longer than recommended on average.

This resulted in 94 patients - 58 at the LGH - being admitted for their scheduled procedures as emergency patients.

Labor's health spokeswoman Ella Haddad said the situation was "completely unacceptable", and called for the government to "come clean" over where $300 million was set to be cut from the state's budget.

Ms Haddad said the statistics showed the state's health system could not weather any cuts, and any attempt to pin the blame on the federal government was simply passing the buck.

"It's a symbol of a health system that continues to lurch from crisis to crisis," she said.

"Shockingly, what these figures also show is that around about 100 Tasmanians waited so long for their elective surgery that they ended up needing emergency surgery.

"That tells us that Tasmanians are not only waiting too long for elective surgery, but they're getting sicker while they wait.

"The government has announced $300 million worth of budget cuts, they need to come clean ... and tell us how much of that $300 million is going to be ripped out of the health system and of the hospital system."

The outpatient waiting list remained nearly 60,000 names long between April 2023 and 2024.

The Premier said shortcomings in the health system were a federal issue, as the Australian Government had neglected to invest in primary care.

He said the state government was committed to playing its part, and ongoing investment had led to improved health outcomes compared to four years ago.

"We've invested, and are continuing to invest in more health professionals, but also getting elective surgery down as much as possible," Mr Rockliff said.

"That includes partnering with the private healthcare sector as well.

"It's a combination of investment in our acute care sector, our hospitals, but it's also important that we invest in our primary health care sector as well ... allowing our pharmacies to do more.

"Therefore, greater access for people to get their medical needs and their health needs supported by their local pharmacy, but also more GPs in Tasmania."