Tasmanian health coaching 'a waste of money'

A health coaching service offered by the Tasmanian Government has cost more than $3,700 for each person it has engaged in its over-the-phone program.

The ill-received Get Healthy Information and Coaching Service, which was launched in July 2010, engaged just 134 Tasmanians, with 36 people graduating from the six-month coaching program.

Tasmanian Health Minister Michelle O'Byrne recently admitted in the State Parliament that she would like to see an increased uptake in the NSW-based program, adding that the program was part of a compilation of services that were necessary to ensure a range of options for Tasmanians struggling to make healthy choices.

Minister O'Byrne explained "we will work with a range of mechanisms and a range of costs and efficiencies in order to deliver the healthier outcomes that we want."

Opposition health spokesman Jeremy Rockliff said the service was a blatant waste of taxpayers' money.

The Get Healthy service provides information only, or a one-off coaching call and a health coaching program, whereby the participant receives up to 10 phone calls from their own personal health coach.

Last year, Dean Ewington, President of the Tasmanian regional council of Fitness Australia and one of the key instigators behind the establishment of the Tasmanian Premier's Physical Activity Council (PPAC), resigned over the direction that the Tasmanian Health Department was taking in the area of preventative health in Tasmania.

Ewington explained that he was frustrated by the lack of action and consultation with the fitness industry in developing policies to encourage Tasmanians into a healthier lifestyle.

At the time of his resignation Ewington said that the based health coaching service would be a waste of money that resources could be used far more effectively in dealing with health problems.

Ewington asked "why do we need to send $500,000 to NSW for jobs there when that money could have better spent partnering with the Industry here to help build capacity in this type of service and provide a boost to local jobs?"

8th July 2010 - FITNESS IDENTITY SLAMS TASMANIA’S PREVENTATIVE HEALTH POLICY