Chronic health conditions placing workforce on a knifes edge

The report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare found 25 per cent of Australians with a chronic condition were out of the workforce, while four per cent were unemployed.

RACGP state chair Tim Jackson said poor lifestyle choices meant more people were developing illnesses, with cases in arthritis, obesity, diabetes and various lung conditions all rising.

He said one reason for the rise was the increased demand on the health sector during the pandemic.

"The concerning thing is with COVID, chronic diseases have been put on the back burner, either because patients didn't have the access to services or didn't want to risk going to the doctors, now with people returning to those services were seeing them rise," he said.

He said some chronic illness conditions could last 6 months, while others were ongoing and would have lifelong health impacts.

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Dr Jackson said while most illnesses could be managed to maintain quality of life, illnesses that went untreated could have a direct impact on a persons ability to work.

Royal Flying Doctor Service chief executive John Kirwan said with an ageing population and high rates of chronic illness, Tasmania's workforce was in a precarious position.

He said as one of the states largest employers the healthcare sector would be impacted if the rise was not addressed.

"The biggest and fastest-growing workforces are health, aged care and disability, so there's a potential perfect storm and if it's not with us, it's about to be with us," he said.

Mr Kirwan said access to health services in regional and rural communities was paramount to reducing chronic illnesses.

"The message from our perspective is we've got some good chronic disease programs out there keeping people healthy and fit, we just need to make sure we keep investing in those and growing them where needed," he said

Mr Kirwan said the report made it clear the state was facing a workforce shortage - something he expected would continue for some time - but pointed to health services that could help reduce the gap by identifying and engaging a hidden workforce.

"A good example is our dental program where we provide a dental prosthesis for people," he said.

"We've seen quite a number of our clients, patients who are now back in the workforce because they've got a full mouth of teeth.

"It's opportunities like that we need to focus on because otherwise, people are out of work, just sitting at home."