Public hospital system..A real eye opener

[Ean Austral]

Gday All,
Long story short, the youngest daughter who is now 18 complained late yesterday of not feeling well, and when she started to get pains in the chest and trouble breathing and being sick a few hours later decided not to take any chances and head off to the hospital, its 8.30pm arrive 8.50pm.
Nurse see's our daughter , takes blood pressure etc and decides she isnt having a heart attack so we wait in the waiting room, at this stage there is 3 other people in the waiting room.
Between 9.00pm and midnight we see a stream of people come thru including 3 asylem seekers with their guards, they were ushered thru and not seen again.
A bloke dropped off by the ambo's with blood all over his face and his head bandaged, who was just wheeled over to a corner and was still there when we left at 0130am
Another bloke comes in escorted by 2 cops with cuts all over his face from what looked like a glass attack.
2 blokes who after much abusing of the nurses turned out to be people who had checked themselves out of the hospital a week before and got infections in the same wounds the hospital had fixed or tried to before they checked out.

The nurse's copped an absolute torrent of abuse from people who we more interested in finding their next drink than getting better.

Not sure how the system is expected to improve when you see the total lack of respect shown by "joe public" but all I do know is they certainly dont pay nurse's enough $$ for what I seen last night, which i am sure is repeated every day and night.

Our daughter seems to have a viral infection that is going around, and am glad we took her, but its a real eye opener to see the hospital system in action

Cheers Ean

[Redback]

What ammused me when at the ED, were the amount of halfwits and their partners or children with wounds or sniffles that could have been fixed at home with a bandaid or panadol:mad: a complete waste of time and resoarces.

Aaahhh you cut your widdle finger, **** off home and put a bloody bandaid on it:twisted:

Baz.

[jx2mad]

A few years ago I was taken from work to the local public hospital (Parramatta) with a kidney stone attack. I was doubled over in severe pain. Took well over an hour to see a Dr, and by that time the spasm had passed so he sent me back to work :mad::mad::mad:

[FISHGUTS]

Hi Ean,

Good to hear nothing too serious, yeah I remember from a couple of visits back when we lived in Darwin (late 80's early 90's), it was a real eye opener just what the staff have to put up with. Even now (last visit was a few years ago here in Perth) nothing much has changed and you are bang on Redback, no "home remedy" skills like Mum and Grandma have are used in todays society, just go to the hospital ED.

Cheers,

Peter.

[superquag]

Chest pains, always mention pressure... shortness of breath.... sore neck and a general feeling of impending doom.

May have nothing to do with your broken ankle...but it puts you up the queue like nothing else does ! :angel:

Can only agree... after seeing most of the "clients" at our local public hospital, I will have no shame about playing the above trick if/when needs be. - Got instant service when I had genuine cardiac problems...

Yes, Nurses are worth their weight in Gold.

[Pickles2]

Something should be done about the "Emergency", or as it should, in many many instances be called, the "I'll come here, 'cause if I go to the Docter I'll have to pay" Dept.
But nothing is done about culling the people "using" the system, nor is there any REAL punishment for those, as a previous poster said, who abuse hard working & dedicated medical professionals.
Cheers, Pickles.

[Lotz-A-Landies]

Sounds like a normal day to me!

Both sides of a brawl in beds next to each other, who then want to continue the fight in the ED.

Drug dealers running business from their trolley.

3am Friday night specials. - Blood, booze and vomit!

What gets me is the Eastern Suburbs mothers who demand to be seen immediately irrespective of the condition of their child because it's an emergency -> she has a dinner party tonight and the guests are due to arrive any moment!

Then the others who demand to be given a government paid taxi ride home because its the sabbath and they can't do the work of opening their wallet to pay the fare!

I could go on and on ... ad infinitum ....!
Something should be done about the "Emergency", or as it should, in many many instances be called, the "I'll come here, 'cause if I go to the Docter I'll have to pay" Dept.
But nothing is done about culling the people "using" the system, nor is there any REAL punishment for those, as a previous poster said, who abuse hard working & dedicated medical professionals.
Cheers, Pickles.You forgot to mention the red and white free taxi co. they used to get to the ED. (the one with red and blue flashing lights and a siren)

As for making them go to the GP, we can't they are citizens and entitled to use the ED under Medicare, the most that can be done is to give them the appropriate triage score and make them wait until their turn in the cat 5 queue comes up. (Most ED waiting rooms actually have 3 different priority queues operating simultaneously, each queue moving at different rates. Funding is based upon benchmarking of time from presentation to being seen by the Doc for each of the 5 different triage categories)

BTW: the ones who arrived in custody (above), would likely not be seen any quicker than any other person presenting. Just that they would have been housed in a secure area of the department. Highly likely for EDs in close proximity to prisons and detention centres.

[weeds]

my father inlaw presented with mild chest pain or might have been after having chest pain and was placed in a que. he was concerned that it might get worse.....

he made himself fall out of his chair onto the floor, he was instantly seen to and turns out he had had a mild heart attack and needed a stint put in

by no means was he blaming the nurses, from the sounds of it they were under the pump dealing with all sorts presenting......

on a side note he works in the medical industry (servicing hospital equipment) and advise us if you think you have something serious or you are getting worse than lay on the floor. i am not saying i agree with this method of jumping the que just handy to know

[Lotz-A-Landies]

my father inlaw presented with mild chest pain or might have been after having chest pain and was placed in a que. he was concerned that it might get worse.....

he made himself fall out of his chair onto the floor, he was instantly seen to and turns out he had had a mild heart attack and needed a stint put in

by no means was he blaming the nurses, from the sounds of it they were under the pump dealing with all sorts presenting......on a side note he works in the medical industry (servicing hospital equipment) and advise us if you think you have something serious or you are getting worse than lay on the floorNot in my ED you won't, yes you'll get reassessed, but triage nurses are quite expert in assessing true from fake.

Then we have the person who saw the ambulance cases going straight in, so rang an ambulance to the front door, ambulance control rang us up to querie the call. Or the person who was cat 5, going home (close by) and calling the ambulance, arrived back at triage now with an ambulance bill and being given the same Cat 5 and sent back to the waiting room. Their previous place in the queue having lapsed when they left the ED.

[weeds]

Not in my ED you won't, yes you'll get reassessed, but triage nurses are quite expert in assessing true from fake.

Then we have the person who saw the ambulance cases going straight in, so rang an ambulance to the front door, ambulance control rang us up to querie the call. Or the person who was cat 5, going home (close by) and calling the ambulance, arrived back at triage now with an ambulance bill and being given the same Cat 5 and sent back to the waiting room. Their previous place in the queue having lapsed when they left the ED.

good thing he wasn't in you ED than.......

he was concerned about his health and thought he needed reassessing sooner rather than later, maybe he saved himself from more harm i guess we will never know......in the end he was treated straight away, i would have to check but pretty sure he was admitted.

just chatted to the wife, forgot to ask whether he stayed in overnight but he actually works for the privaste hospital ED that he presented at which i thought was quite funny

[Chucaro]

I am glad that your daughter is Ok
I have admitted 2 times with chest pain in 2 public hospitals, one occasion on the Royal North Shore Hosp. in Sydney and the other in Bundaberg.
In both cases they literary drag me inside and did not took any chances.
It is estrange that what have done with your daughter.
I have been told in Bundaberg, Sydney and Hobart that the priorities work as follow:
1st in severe asthma attack and angioedema
2nd chest pain.

In all the hospital that I have been there is a strict policy that abuse will be not tolerated and people will be removed form the hospital by security or police.
What it is going on in the NT ? :confused:

[strangy]

......You forgot to mention the red and white free taxi co. they used to get to the ED. (the one with red and blue flashing lights and a siren).

Don't forget the ones that fly, there are a few frequent flyers out there too. The ones who have more important social functions to attend, rather than have Dialysis when scheduled and just have their own personal aircraft pick them up when they show up at the clinic in a bad way.

[101RRS]

Try going to the hospital with the worse waiting time in Aust - Canberra Hospital.

I turned up there at about 11 at night with a relatively minor but painful injury - a few people around and few more arrived while I was there. I know how the system works and after triage expected to be treated as a low priority.

At 3 in the morning I had been there a few hours and asked when I would be seen and was told "in due course". By about 5.30 (over 6 hours since I arrived) no one else was there and hadn't been for about an hour, the nurses were joking around with each other and broken out the sandwiches.

I went over and asked when I would be seen (still in considerable pain) and the response was "are you waiting to be seen?" - :mad:. Somehow I had slipped off the admission/triage record available to them and even though I was waiting in their room they thought I was there for some other reason :mad:.

They then said I would not be able to be seen for a little while - was just after 6 by this time - so I had a little bit of dummy spit and left and went and sat outside my Doctors which opens at 7 on the off chance that I could get in first (normally a 3 day wait) and after a small 15 minute op all was done.

Unfortunately about 6 months later I had a major altercation with an angle grinder and did some major damage. I should have gone straight to the hospital but due to my previous bad experience I didn't and as a result I now some permanent tendon, bone and nerve damage.

So while I agree that emergency departments are misused a lot of people have no other option - long lead times to see a GP, virtually no bulk billing GPs in Canberra etc. Maybe the Govts should be providing out of hours GP clinics in hospitals (not high expense locums) and nurses for minor issues.

When I was a kid you could go to the ambulance station for minor stuff and the ambos would fix you splinters, cuts and abrasions and if in their opinion was worse either refer you to hospital or take you. I am not advocating this now but maybe a bulk bill GP clinic where basic first aid can be done by nurses and also refer patients to a GP or emergency as appropriate.

I have really lost faith in the hospital system.

Garry

[FeatherWeightDriver]

Can't disagree with most of the above!

My all too frequent trips to the hospital have generally involved me sitting around for hours waiting to be seen for far longer than should have been the case (generally 3-6 hours), but admittedly also for things that were not getting any worse by me sitting there. The times I was really in strife I was generally getting fixed in under 10 minutes.

With the amount of abuse they get day in day out, it simply amazes me that anyone works in ER.

I reckon there should be peak hours GP there to deal with the minor stuff (something that is being trialled in some places in NSW), and a big burly bloke with a taser to sort out anyone giving grief to the staff.

[Lotz-A-Landies]

.
I have been told in Bundaberg, Sydney and Hobart that the priorities work as follow:
1st in severe asthma attack and angioedema
2nd chest pain.

In all the hospital that I have been there is a strict policy that abuse will be not tolerated and people will be removed form the hospital by security or police. < and so it should be, nurses, doctors and other health workers do not come to work to be abused. >
What it is going on in the NT ? :confused:Not true. The category is not diagnosis based, it is based upon multi-factors which assess the maximum time the collection of signs and symptoms (+/- differential diagnosis) can afford to wait until definitive treatment is commenced.

Yes severe asthma, with central cyanosis, obstructive airway and an O2 saturation below 90 may get a cat 1, but most asthma would get a 2 or 3.
Heart attacks would likely get a 2 or an asprin and a 3 while someone in cardiopulmonary arrest is automatically a 1.

AUSTRALIAN TRIAGE SCALE
CATEGORY - ACUITY* - PERFORMANCE INDICATOR THRESHOLD**
ATS 1 - Immediate - 100%
ATS 2 - 10 minutes - 80%
ATS 3 - 30 minutes - 75%
ATS 4 - 60 minutes - 70%
ATS 5 - 120 minutes - 70%

* (Maximum waiting time)
** (the Government funding criteria, performance below the threshold will likely mean a reduction in the budget)

[Pickles2]

Well, bearing in mind my previous post, I wouldn't want anyone to think I've lost faith in our Hospital system, because I haven't,....only in the administration of the "Emergency" Depts,....and what I've said & seen, seems to be Australia wide......If it's not serious.......send 'em on their way......and if there's any physical stuff/ violence etc....call the cops & have 'em charged.
We have a wonderful Hospital system. My mother in Law, who's never had private health cover has had two very serious operations on her intestines...3-4 weeks in hospital....cost her nothing, recently another 4 weeks in hospital for pneumonia...cost her nothing.....& all the medication she takes costs her nothing.
When ya look at the cost of maintaining the medicare system, all the offices, all the computers etc, all the staff, and all the benefits paid, and the cost of running the hospitals, the TOTAL cost must be HHUUGGEE. But it's an awesome caring system, although I don't know how we can continue to fund this level of care....it must be one of the best in the world.
BUT, I do not like to see it being abused, & so I say there should be more control & rules, to ensure improper "use" of the Emergency dept.
Cheers, Pickles.

[sheerluck]

Ean,

Glad to hear your daughter is on the mend, and totally agree with your assessment of the hospital system.

I had to use the ED for the first time only a few weeks ago, twice within a few days of each other.

The first was for my wife, who was mauled by our neighbour's Rottweilers (which I may elaborate on at some point in the future when all the legal stuff has died down a bit). She was seen in our little local hospital first, but then patched up and sent to the much larger hospital 35km away. And even though the little local hospital did a less than perfect job, I have to say I was so impressed with how the bigger place went (she was in there a few days) that I wrote a letter of thanks. The staff were absolutely wonderful, the facilities more than adequate, but you really did have to question people's thought processes in presenting themselves to the ED. There was a guy there with toothache :eek:

[Roverlord off road spares]

A few years ago I was taken from work to the local public hospital (Parramatta) with a kidney stone attack. I was doubled over in severe pain. Took well over an hour to see a Dr, and by that time the spasm had passed so he sent me back to work :mad::mad::mad:
I had renal colic ( kidney stones ) twice now, the triage nurse put be straight in , yes it's the hot twisting knife keel over pain, I was relieved by morphine straight away.

[101RRS]

There was a guy there with toothache :eek:

Well where do you go when most doctors have a 3 or 4 day waiting list and dentists something similar.

Locally some employers have had to change their requirements for doctor's certificates for days off as people often cannot get to see a doctor - where I last worked for under 3 days was a stat dec and over 3 days doctors cert.

Garry

[Lotz-A-Landies]

A few years ago I was taken from work to the local public hospital (Parramatta) with a kidney stone attack. I was doubled over in severe pain. Took well over an hour to see a Dr, and by that time the spasm had passed so he sent me back to work :mad::mad::mad:I had renal colic ( kidney stones ) twice now, the triage nurse put be straight in , yes it's the hot twisting knife keel over pain, I was relieved by morphine straight away.It happens to all of us, I was doing a night shift in the ICU of a major Sydney teaching hospital when a colleague said that I just went green as a bout of renal colic hit. I was sent down to ED where the Doc ordered morphine and at the same time was sent to the holding area. 45 minutes later still in agony but no morphine, I'm not proud of it, but I suggested to the RN in a not too friendly tone, "Whats the problem, are you growing the opium?" :o there were a few other expletives used. Sometimes you have to lose one's cool. :(

Yes, renal calculi can be exquisite pain.

[Roverlord off road spares]

unfortunately there are always people that shouldn't been there and could have seen their local GP
With the free medicare system people will go to the ER instead of going to their GP where they may be out of pocket due to no bulk billing.
Saturdays & Sundays are sport injuries, broken bones & sprains.
We general thong wearers getting drunk and cutting their feet or no shoes at all.
Nights are usually mothers with young kids with a sniffle and panic.
There are a lot of people that shouldn't be there and complain about waiting 3 - 4 hours.
Trouble is also to see a GP these days you need to book ahead, they usually aren't " a see now doctor " so people go to the ER

[Lotz-A-Landies]

Just a hint, if you need to go to the ED and it's not an immediate, must be seen now need, then go in about 8.00-9.00am when the night staff have handed over and the morning staff have had a chance to assess the patients, discharge or admit them and see those in the waiting room not seen by the night staff. It is also before all the saturday/sunday sports injuries and the weekday industrial accidents usually happen.

Monday morning is an exception and always busy.

6.00pm is always busy especially for kids.

If you have heart symptoms, chest tightness/arm pain or sudden onset stroke symptoms: numbness/confusion/vision changes/balance problems or severe headache, call an ambulance or go immediately to the hospital. It is not something to wait and see. Let the professionals make the decision, who cares if it turns out to be a false alarm

[Ean Austral]

My original post was not directed at the hard working staff, who in all fairness had plenty to do whilst our daughter was waiting, and she was seen to straight away when we mentioned the chest pains, she was classed as not having a ehart attack risk, so we went into line, and fully what we expected to happen.

There were plenty of people who came in especially a couple of kids having bad asthma attacks, and they were whisked into the back rooms.

I was just more amazed at the joe public attitude, people who had checked themselves out of hospital against the staffs wishes and then had the hide to abuse the nursing staff. Then there was the people who believed they deserved to be seen because they had been there longer but only had a wound that really could've been cleaned up at home, or as has been said in many of the previous posts.

The funny thing was our eldest daughter is a dialysis nurse at the same hospital and was just finishing her shift when we walked in.

I have no doubt there are serious flaws in our health system , and sure it can be improved, but its not all the fault of the system, some people just really need to take a good look at themselves.

Cheers Ean

[weeds]

If you have heart symptoms, chest tightness/arm pain or sudden onset stroke symptoms: numbness/confusion/vision changes/balance problems or severe headache, call an ambulance or go immediately to the hospital. It is not something to wait and see. Let the professionals make the decision, who cares if it turns out to be a false alarm

good summary..........my other father inlaw thought he could tough it out...chest pain that is (heavy smoker and drinker) he was a lucky man

[sheerluck]

Well where do you go when most doctors have a 3 or 4 day waiting list and dentists something similar.

Locally some employers have had to change their requirements for doctor's certificates for days off as people often cannot get to see a doctor - where I last worked for under 3 days was a stat dec and over 3 days doctors cert.

Garry

No issue here. Can get into a doctor or dentist the same day. And what could an ED do with toothache? They sent him home with some paracetamol, and advised him to dab some clove oil on it.

[Eevo]

i did a 3 month contract working onsite IT helpdesk in 2 hospitals about 5 years ago.
one was public, one was private


you see the best and worst of people.



guess which one was which.

[Bigbjorn]

Don't complain too much. At least we have a free hospital system. I had a severe respiratory infection in Montana two years ago. The Big Horn County Community Hospital charged me $480 for the consultation and $84 for two prescriptions of cough mixture and antibiotic. The doctor was delighted to have an Australian with whom to compare systems. She said she has patients who will not get better as they cant afford the hospital, the prescriptions, or insurance.

[Lotz-A-Landies]

And the Tea Party have tried about 40 times to repeal Obamacare. In America they have freedom, freedom to starve, freedom to die of treatable simple conditions.

USA; USA; USA! Land of the Free!

[101RRS]

No issue here. Can get into a doctor or dentist the same day.

Well you are the exception - the rest of us have to wait to see our doctors and dentists. ER could give pain killers that are appropriate to the level of pain.

[Eevo]

Well you are the exception - the rest of us have to wait to see our doctors and dentists. ER could give pain killers that are appropriate to the level of pain.

my dentist has an 8 week waiting list

[sheerluck]

Well you are the exception - the rest of us have to wait to see our doctors and dentists.

Can't answer for the rest of the country Garry, but in the 4 areas of Brisbane that I have lived in since arriving in this country 7 or so years ago I've never had to wait more than a day for an appointment.

And I found that to be a refreshing change after experiencing similar issues to what you're alluding to, with the NHS in the UK. A couple of times there was a week's wait for a GP appointment. And the difference there is that you stay with the GP practice you are registered with, where here you can visit any you please.

However, at the hospital I was talking about, there are advertisements in the ED for a nearby GP clinic that offered "walk in" appointments 300m from the hospital itself. People frequently don't appreciate what is an emergency, and what isn't.


ER could give pain killers that are appropriate to the level of pain.

The guy with the toothache had been to the dentist the previous day (a Friday) to be told he needed to come on Monday for a filling. No raging infection, no abscess to be drained, it was just toothache. The ER consultant was quite flabbergasted. Ok, so the poor guy was going to have a miserable weekend, but it was unlikely to be anything more than that. A few over the counter pills, a bit of granny's old remedies, and you tough it out for a couple of days. You don't stand and argue with the nurses in an ED when people with very obvious injuries are being seen before you.

[101RRS]

I was sent down to ED where the Doc ordered morphine and at the same time was sent to the holding area. 45 minutes later still in agony but no morphine, I'm not proud of it, but I suggested to the RN in a not too friendly tone, "Whats the problem, are you growing the opium?" :o there were a few other expletives used. Sometimes you have to lose one's cool. :(

Yes, renal calculi can be exquisite pain.

I had that about 15 years ago - being in the military and working not far from Duntroon Hospital I went there and was quickly diagnosed - where the senior female medical orderly suggested that I now knew what it was like giving birth, to which I replied well where is my epidural and pull the finger out to treat me and then promptly threw up on the floor.

They also indicated it was lucky I went to Duntroon rather than Canberra Hospital as they would have made me wait a few hours to ensure I actually had kidney stones as the symptoms are easy to fake to get drugs out out of the system and plenty of people had been trying it on.

Garry

[yunus400@hotmail.com]

When I was OS in the Solomon islands with RAMSI, we had to take a prisoner to the only hospital in Honiara. No matter how bad we think we have it in Australia, it is nothing compared to what I witnessed. The conditions were atrocious and very sad.

[vnx205]

Not sure how the system is expected to improve when you see the total lack of respect shown by "joe public" but all I do know is they certainly don't pay nurses enough $$ for what I seen last night, which i am sure is repeated every day and night.

I suspect that nursing is another example of a profession, like teaching and policing, that people criticise either because they believe the media coverage or because of the general tendency for some people to whinge about things that don't happen exactly the way they expect. Sometimes they forget that individual nurses, teachers or police are not responsible for problems with the system.

When the general public actually see the work those people do and the problems they have to deal with, they frequently have a little more respect for the work they do.

[scarry]

Ean,glad to hear your daughter is OK:)

I arrived at the local public hospital with a heart issue.Sure they took me straight in,but after 5 hours still had no idea what was wrong.I had a common condition which is AF.

They then sent me to the closest private hospital,which specialises in heart problems.They diagnosed the problem immediately.

We have private cover,and in hindsight should have gone straight to the private hospital.

And as said,nurses,doctors,specialists,surgeons,etc, and other staff at these hospitals are worth their weight in gold.:)

In many areas they are very short staffed,which is not good.

One of my sons has CML,a type of leukaemia.Over the years we have spent a lot of time at hospitals,and medical centres.There have been many highs and lows.

At no time were the medical staff any less than absolutely fantastic,i can't speak highly enough of them.

In fact our specialist has been so good(over the last 12yrs or so) my wife gave him my favourite large aboriginal art painting which was given to me(many years ago) by a well known,prominent artist himself.The artist has since died.

Our specialist, did,with help from others, save our sons life.

[gruntfuttock]

A very close friend of mine was taken to the hospital with shortness of breath, chest pains, and pains in the arms and neck/jaw. He went in at 06:30 (about) by 19:30 he was still in the waiting room:mad::mad::angrylock:, he left and went home without being seen. Next morning went to the Dr, went in and on my advice just told them "I have chest pains" 30mins later he left in an ambulance. He is fine now but it was a very very very close call from what I know it was touch and go

[gruntfuttock]

My wife when in hospital a while ago could not have anything by mouth, so what would they do? try and give her food and medicine by mouth saying yes it is quite OK the Dr said it was OK, however we talked to the Dr and he was quite categorical that she was not to have anything by mouth. They would then come in a alter the drip rate or just stop it:mad: The doors at the end of the corridor had a gap between the bottom of the door and the floor of about 2 inches, the patients complained about the insects /mozzies etc coming in so the patients rolled up towels they got from the linen cupboard and placed them at the bottom the doors, the nurses would take them away:mad:. When she was allowed food it was only to be very soft puree so what did she get, casserole nice and chunky. I complained so the result was that she did get the right food only it remained on the trolley and if one of the other ladies did not go and get it she simply would not have had anything at all. There were some nurses who were really were worth their weight in gold and were very professional and their help was greatly appreciated and i thanked them for the professional and quality service.

The lady in the bed next to her, had nothing to eat or drink for 50 - 55 hours. They would prepare her for surgery, then not do it, send her back to the ward with nothing to eat or drink and the whole process repeated it self again, by the third day they did the operation.

Yes there are professional people and and those who are indeed excellent and caring in their job but some at least when we had hospital experience was to say the least lacking.

And before anyone tells me that about the hard work nurses do, (and I agree with that) I have two people in my family who work in the medical profession.

[jonesfam]

When I first went to live on Aboriginal Communities I took a second job as security for the hospital.
There was no doctor & the nurses were not allowed to leave their quarters until security (me) arrived to escort them.
I/we had a few very funny events.
A lady laying in the hospital driveway when I arrived during a tropical down pour with an axe in her head. I wandered over to get the nurse & said "No hurry, this ones dead." Next day said women thanked me for my help, had a hell of a bandage around her head though.
Another night we had a stabbing in the arm, the bloke kept fighting us, very drunk, so I had my forearm across his throat with most of my weight on it to keep him still, the nurse decided not to use any pain relief while she stitched the muscle & skin.
There were always 2 jobs I reckoned I would never do on Communities, Police & Nurse, both no win, no thanks jobs.
Jonesfam

[Eevo]

Next morning went to the Dr, went in and on my advice just told them "I have chest pains" 30mins later he left in an ambulance.

yeah, if you have chest pains, call an ambo.

2 patients arrive at hospital both with shortness of breath.

1 arrives by ambo
1 arrives by any other mean.

ambo will be admitted first almost everytime.

[gruntfuttock]

yeah, if you have chest pains, call an ambo.

2 patients arrive at hospital both with shortness of breath.

1 arrives by ambo
1 arrives by any other mean.

ambo will be admitted first almost everytime.

I maynot have been clear enough, he first went to hospital, waited all day then went home, rang me in despair and I told him to get to the doctors, NOT the hospital and just tell them "I have severe chest pains" It was only then he got action

[Eevo]

I maynot have been clear enough, he first went to hospital, waited all day then went home, rang me in despair and I told him to get to the doctors, NOT the hospital and just tell them "I have severe chest pains" It was only then he got action

yes, i understood. he should've stayed at home and called for an ambulance.

[Lotz-A-Landies]

yeah, if you have chest pains, call an ambo.

2 patients arrive at hospital both with shortness of breath.

1 arrives by ambo
1 arrives by any other mean.

ambo will be admitted first almost everytime.Not true.

While they are on an ambulance trolley, they are being cared for by health professionals, ambulances these days can wait for hours before they get to unload their patients.

The patient arriving at the triage desk with the same symptoms has no one to observe them so may get an ED bed before the ambulance arrival.

Diana

[superquag]

Correct, from my own experiences. - I've always taken myself down there...:o Last time (yes, not a false alarm) the Triage Nurse just took my Medicare card before being whisked away to be wired, punctured and watched.

In a suburban public hospital. :)

I've got a very high opinion of Nurses... From ED to CCU.

[superquag]

It happens to all of us, I was doing a night shift in the ICU of a major Sydney teaching hospital when a colleague said that I just went green as a bout of renal colic hit. I was sent down to ED where the Doc ordered morphine and at the same time was sent to the holding area. 45 minutes later still in agony but no morphine, I'm not proud of it, but I suggested to the RN in a not too friendly tone, "Whats the problem, are you growing the opium?" :o there were a few other expletives used. Sometimes you have to lose one's cool. :(

Yes, renal calculi can be exquisite pain.

Yes.

Morphine is wonderful stuff, eventually... Mine dropped me in a matter of minutes...to total inability to function at any level... (except compliance, I'm told...)

My post-op Nurse - who'd had both - readily agreed that childbirth was so much more comfortable ... :eek:

[gruntfuttock]

yes, i understood. he should've stayed at home and called for an ambulance.
That would be okay if he lived in the town but you need a 4WD to get into his place at times, so he would have to drive down and meet them on the road, so better just drive right in. Any way, all is well now:D

[Chucaro]

.................................................. ....
Yes, renal calculi can be exquisite pain.

I remember it very well, I was 6 hours in the Ryde (NSW) hospital with pain and the doctors did not want to give me any pain killers because the chance that I was a drug addict waiting for a "free shot" :mad: :censored:
After the pain and suffer for 6 hours they called a specialist who immediately injected me pain killers and said that renal calculi is one of the most severe pains that can suffer the human body and that in same cases the pain leave marks in the hearth.
In my case it left marks in my hearth :mad:

[jerryd]

Since living in oz I've been to hospital twice and on both occasions I could not fault the system :)
The first time was for a kidney stone, I'd been writhing in agony for hours at home saying "it'll be alright in a minute :eek:" My wife rung our doctor at home in the evening and he immediately diagnosed "kidney stone - get to hospital" My wife took me to the emergency dept and they took me straight in for treatment on arrival. After two days on a ward I managed to spit out a 5mm stone :censored: Gee that hurt at the time, wouldn't wish that experience on anyone. 10/10 for the staff :)

My second visit started about 3 months ago after the discovery of a tumor following a colonoscopy :( I was immediately placed as a cat one patient for an operation following lots more tests etc. Every visit was a pleasant one and only on one occasion did I have to wait 2-3 hours, big deal I can read a book.
To cut a long story short, I had my op two weeks ago and I'm just about recovered from it. Tomorrow I go for a final check up and fingers crossed I'm cancer free :) Once again I cannot fault any of the staff in the hospital and cannot thank them enough. Excellent 10/10

I think of all my recent visits I only saw one person who was really loud and abusive to staff :mad: I did observe lots of notices saying that "abuse will not be tolerated"

[olbod]

By crikie those stones give you some hurry up.
I have had 1/2 a dozen or so.
First time I didn't know what was going on so I went to the Doctors, I forget what we did.
After that I grinned and stood it untill it was over. I found that taking a couple of Panadol and 2 Buscopan made it sufferable.
The last one was in June 2010, I couldn't cope with that one so called an Ambulance and went to ED. They found I had a 12mm stone. I couldn't pass that bugger. Eventually they went thru me tool and crushed and bagged it. Embarrassing but what the hell.
I realised that during winter I wasn't drinking as much water, so now I drink 2 or 3 ltrs a day without any further problems.
I recognise the symtems now so if I get a slight twinge in the kidney's I immediatley drink a litre or so of cold water which so far have stopped any forming.

Cheers.

[Eevo]

ambulances these days can wait for hours before they get to unload their patients.



depending on the casualty of the person in the in the ambo.

[rick130]

A very good friend is an ED RN and even here in the bush they cop way too much crap from patients and get frigged around by the system.

One saving grace is that apparently nurses and nursing receive a lot more respect and courtesy by country/rural folk than they get from the general public in the city.

[Lotz-A-Landies]

depending on the casualty of the person in the in the ambo.I'm not sure where you're coming from with this comment.

A ATS Category 1 will be seen immediately whether they arrive via ambulance, helicopter or through the front door. Similarly an ATS Cat 2 will be treated within 10 minutes irrespective of mode of arrival, however if the Hospital is on by-pass the ambulances bypass to another hospital unless Cat 1 (and sometimes even on cat 1).

If there are no beds in the ED, an ambulance arrival will wait under the care of the ambulance paramedics until a bed becomes available or the patient is sent to the waiting room. A Cat 2 arriving through the front door will get a bed usually before a Cat 2 arriving by ambulance at the same time.

Remember this is my profession an ED Clinical Manager before being transferred to administration (Clinical Governance).

[Eevo]

I'm not sure where you're coming from with this comment.

going by the rest of what you have said, a lot has changed in 5 years. or its different in SA hospitals

[jx2mad]

My daughter is a type 1 diabetic and has jujst gone through a pregnancy. Twice she went to casualty dept with very high sugar levels which she could not reduce at home. Believe me she never had time to sit down but was whisked straight in for treatment. Nurses and drs were the best. Jim:D:D

[THE BOOGER]

It all depends on peoples idea of an emergency if you go into an ED with a stubbed toe and think its life threatening your in for a long wait. Some people will always slip through the system and wait to long but I don't know of a health care system of our size any where in the world that works better or too the standard that we have:):)

[Lotz-A-Landies]

We do have systems in place to stop people falling through the cracks but EDs nationwide are being stretched to breaking point. Mistakes happen.

I have no doubt that sometimes people arriving via ambulance get seen a little quicker than others, but it is also the case that ambulance arrivals often get walked out to the waiting room. It will be a kick in the pants for the patient when they get the bill and still waited for hours in the waiting room.

In country areas, where there are limited ambulances available to cover large regions the ED will try to work with the ambos and empty their stretcher quickly. But don't count on it.

[rick130]

Diana, do you still cringe at the sound of a siren?
My mate still does!

I received a text this morning asking what was going on as there were sirens everywhere and as a consequence her adrenaline had ramped up, even though I was in a cafe in my home village 40km away at the time.
Luckily a quick call to my RFS Captain revealed it was just a diesel spill in the main street of town.
Stress levels in the ED instantly lowered! :D

[Lotz-A-Landies]

Diana, do you still cringe at the sound of a siren?
My mate still does!
...! :DNo but the sound of a Telstra Touchfone 2000 does! Thats the one they use as the "Bat Phone" from Ambulance Control.

Like the time "Lifesaver 1" was hovering 500 feet above the landing pad at 3.00am demanding we turn on the landing lights. All go from then for the next hour or so.

Do people realise that when they are still on an Ambulance stretcher, they haven't actually arrived in the ED. :eek:

[Davehoos]

Ive just been silly and cut half a digit and brocken a bone.3 weeks ago.

the problem only starts when you go to hospital.memorise you birth date.write it on your head.

I went to the GP that attached my finger then was driven to hospital.

Emergency saw me in a few minutes---and took a few hours doing paper work to cover their arse--one lot incase of workcover-another as private patient.--------

then--2 days of nil by mouth waiting for a spot in the que.

and older gent took my spot--needed it--also took my name tags.

then my return to my bed--the plan was to move me to another ward--to discharge me.

then visit to GP-and specialist--suppling notes by memory to workcover-as it takes weeks to get them from hospital.my case manager works one day a week-my GP ticked the totally disabled box.

I just had 2 week holidays in NZ--and the paper work has just arrived today.

I have an appointment with specialist on the 9th..but ive runout of medication.

[Lotz-A-Landies]

On Workcover, you should have been able to go to a private hospital, but then again I don't know if I'd trust the care being in a .....

[George130]

I'm not sure where you're coming from with this comment.

A ATS Category 1 will be seen immediately whether they arrive via ambulance, helicopter or through the front door. Similarly an ATS Cat 2 will be treated within 10 minutes irrespective of mode of arrival, however if the Hospital is on by-pass the ambulances bypass to another hospital unless Cat 1 (and sometimes even on cat 1).

If there are no beds in the ED, an ambulance arrival will wait under the care of the ambulance paramedics until a bed becomes available or the patient is sent to the waiting room. A Cat 2 arriving through the front door will get a bed usually before a Cat 2 arriving by ambulance at the same time.

Remember this is my profession an ED Clinical Manager before being transferred to administration (Clinical Governance).

Might be the way it is supposed to be but last time with a friend he came in by ambo's. They left him with me out the back awaiting to be seen. 3 hours later triage nurse asked him to walk to the cubicle. He slurred Ican't stand so they left him untill he had a second seisure just as the resus nurse walked out. 30 seconds later and he is being wired up and was never seen by triage.
Turned out to be a micro stroke but his blood pressure wasoff the chart and even I pointed out a few times that he couldn't speak.

My experiences have been good but then we ring first then drive to Yass to be seen. If they send us on thebn it's by ambulance or give us the notes and send us in while ringing ahead so you get to ED in Canberra to a response of yes we are expecting you come this way.

[460cixy]

Last time I was in hospital it was for an appendix simple enough procedure you would think. 3 weeks later I left the hospital about 10 kg lighter and still have trouble today all I can say is it was bloody disgraceful. Nurses that couldn't speak English and just didn't seem to give a flying **** collapsed veins from canulars being in to long ect then of course all the antibiotics would **** on the floor bloody. A doctor who I found out later off a nurse friend is border li e incompitent Makes my blood boil thinking about it

[Basil135]

Over the last 6 or so years, we have had a heap of hospital visits, both public & private, and the experiences have ranged from outstanding to left standing....

Couple of quick examples:

SWMBO had sepsis after an op at another hospital. Drove her to the ED and she collapsed as she walked in the door. She was scooped up, and by the time I had swiped my Medicare card for her, she had 2 IV's in place, a stack of nurses & doctors looking after her, and blood been drawn. All that took less than 10 mins from walking in the door.

I had 2 herniated vertebrae. Passed out once, and went to the same ED. They gave me morphine to calm the pain, then checked out my treatment plan, and once confirmed it, sent me on my way to have a CT guided injection. A few days later, I passed out again, and on the advice of the treating GP, went to a private ED. What a WOFTM. Swipe your credit card on the way in, to the tune of nearly $300 to be left waiting on a bed, with NO pain relief, as "we are a little busy". It took my 10 yo daughter to go to the counter and SCREAM at them to come and help her daddy. This was after 2 1/2 hours. Even then, the amount of morphine they gave me was less than was necessary. Its their money, and they dont want to spend it. I was uncomfortable from the pain until the specialist came in, and upped the dosage.


Couple of weeks ago, Miss 13 collapsed twice at home. Called the ambos, who were great as usual. Off to the public ED who were having a steady night. Mum went with her, and by the time I got there, they were in the general waiting area. Well, after 3 hours, and not having had another episode, we decided to leave without being seen.

Short answer is, the ED staff do a great job, and so do the administrators, with the tools they are given. There are many reasons, but IMHO:

Increase the Medicare levy. You get what you pay for.

The GP Super Clinics were another government WOFTM. We dont have the doctors to staff them, so why were they built in the first place???

Use more nursing & Paramedic trained staff. MANY cases, not all, not most, but many, that report to the ED do not need to see a doctor. Upskill the experienced staff already in the system, and give them the tools to diagnose, treat & dis-charge.


This country has a first class medical system. Successive governments need to recognise this, and give it the support it needs.

[CraigE]

Ean,
Glad your daughter is Ok, but good to see people start to see what actually goe's on in an ED.
My issue is there are usually too many time wasters who just dont want to pay to go to a doctor and too many drunk and drugged idiots.
What people do have to understand is the triage system and sometimes it does not work perfectly and other times patients may not be assessed correctly as nurses, paramedics and doctors are all human, wont go into that too much but lets say I have challenged a couple of so called triage nurses on occasion who did not deem our P1 patients urgent as often some of these people do not recognize the skills of our medics, on 2 of these occasions our diagnosis was confirmed. I do have to say this does not happen often and most triage nurses usually rely on our initial assessments. There are a couple of hospitals like this and a couple of nurses in particular that we avoid if possible.
Transport does not mean much, we send people by normal car,ambulance either priority or non priority, medivac chopper (our own) or by RFDS. The transports for us could range from minor to life threatening eg we may send a person with a broken leg that is not life threatening by medivac to Port Hedland, but they will not be a priority case, but we may send someone with chest pain of presumed cardiac origin who may be a priority.
Look most ED triage nurses are fairly good at making diagnostic assessments but if you have concerns raise them in a firm but rational manner, yelling and screaming will not help. However if I am dealing with maybe an EN and I have concerns that the patient has not been assessed correctly I will push back a bit, though as said most are fairly good if they see we have concerns.
I will be up front, I actually had a doctor who was semi retired working for me as a medic who made a poor diagnosis, I took his word for his assessment to find his diagnosis was incorrect and could have put a patient in a life threatening position, fortunately all was good for the patient, just shows how easy it can happen.

[CraigE]

No but the sound of a Telstra Touchfone 2000 does! Thats the one they use as the "Bat Phone" from Ambulance Control.

Like the time "Lifesaver 1" was hovering 500 feet above the landing pad at 3.00am demanding we turn on the landing lights. All go from then for the next hour or so.

Do people realise that when they are still on an Ambulance stretcher, they haven't actually arrived in the ED. :eek:

The last bit is a cop out, especially when ramped. Ramping should not occur in any circumstance.

[Pickles2]

I'm not sure where you're coming from with this comment.

A ATS Category 1 will be seen immediately whether they arrive via ambulance, helicopter or through the front door. Similarly an ATS Cat 2 will be treated within 10 minutes irrespective of mode of arrival, however if the Hospital is on by-pass the ambulances bypass to another hospital unless Cat 1 (and sometimes even on cat 1).

If there are no beds in the ED, an ambulance arrival will wait under the care of the ambulance paramedics until a bed becomes available or the patient is sent to the waiting room. A Cat 2 arriving through the front door will get a bed usually before a Cat 2 arriving by ambulance at the same time.

Remember this is my profession an ED Clinical Manager before being transferred to administration (Clinical Governance).
Good to have someone who KNOWS what goes on in ED.
My "issue" is with the way ED is abused...headaches, minor cuts, tummy aches etc etc, and of course verbal & physical abuse of Nurses/Paramedics, by drunken/drug affected "Ferals".
I think there should be more "refusal" to people who should obviously be going to their local GP, and I also say that maybe there should be some form of "Security" to protect staff, and that physical/verbal offenders should be charged.
But, I have no real knowledge, only what I've seen & heard, but you've "been there", so what do you think about the issues I've raised?
Cheers, Pickles.

[sheerluck]

.......This country has a first class medical system. Successive governments need to recognise this, and give it the support it needs.

I agree, and not only that, we need to get away from the "health system bashing" in the press. So many dedicated people must get so disheartened when they think they are doing the best job they possibly can, to be told in every tabloid that the system is failing and that it's their fault.

In the example I gave, my wife was taken to our little local hospital first, deliberately because we had heard so much bad press about the bigger one a short distance away. And as it turned out, the bigger hospital did a superb job of looking after her, and that all the doubts in our minds from the various stories in the press were completely wrong.

[Lotz-A-Landies]

Dave

I think local hospitals get a rough trot in the press. The new cub reporter is trying to make a name for themselves, trying for a job as an investigative reporter on one of the national dailys. Their first and easiest targets are the big local organisations so they took for any faults they can find in the hospital or local council because they are the only "big" organisations in their district.

Don't get me wrong, there are sometimes things that need to be reported to the public, and sometimes ICAC but the articles are often hyped us from a simple misunderstanding or simple human error and worthy of mediation not headlines.

[sheerluck]

Dave

I think local hospitals get a rough trot in the press. The new cub reporter is trying to make a name for themselves, trying for a job as an investigative reporter on one of the national dailys. Their first and easiest targets are the big local organisations so they took for any faults they can find in the hospital or local council because they are the only "big" organisations in their district.

Don't get me wrong, there are sometimes things that need to be reported to the public, and sometimes ICAC but the articles are often hyped us from a simple misunderstanding or simple human error and worthy of mediation not headlines.

Diana, I couldn't agree more! Yes people make mistakes, and so long as there is an open and fair review process around that, and no suggestion of sweeping events under collective carpets, then the ammunition for the tabloids disappears.

That said though, when there are truly massive systemic abuses and failures, like those which occurred in the hospital trust in the town I left in the UK (BBC News - Stafford Hospital timeline (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-20965469)), it really needs to be publicised.
That scandal was centred in the hospital my daughter was born in, that most of my family had been in at various points, and some friends back in the UK still work at.

[Eevo]

Increase the Medicare levy. You get what you pay for.


no
taxes should pay for a base level.
if you want better, go private.
if your not happy, you should have complained. its your money.

[Lotz-A-Landies]

Diana, I couldn't agree more! Yes people make mistakes, and so long as there is an open and fair review process around that, and no suggestion of sweeping events under collective carpets, then the ammunition for the tabloids disappears.

....The system, at least in NSW is trying.

Open Disclosure Guidelines - NSW Health (http://www0.health.nsw.gov.au/policies/gl/2007/GL2007_007.html)

Open Disclosure - NSW Department of Health (http://www0.health.nsw.gov.au/policies/pd/2007/PD2007_040.html)

http://www0.health.nsw.gov.au/resources/quality/opendisc/pdf/ODfactsheet.pdf

[Basil135]

no
taxes should pay for a base level.
if you want better, go private.
if your not happy, you should have complained. its your money.

And this is the problem with the attitude of most people today.

I have had top private cover for years. Still do.

When I had my back surgery, I was given the option of going private by the surgeon, however, he didn't have any openings for 2 weeks. OR, I could be transferred to a public hospital, where he could operate the next day.

As anyone who has lived with chronic pain will tell you, you get to the point where you will do anything to make it stop. By this stage, I was already hooked on the morphine, and the prospect of waiting another 2 weeks for an operation didn't appeal to me. So I went public.

And as for complaining, well, that is a bit difficult when you cant even move. My wife had been to the desk a number of times, and each time she was told that someone would be with us shortly. it is easy to pass comment, or to judge someone elses actions when you are not there. When faced with the possibility of never walking again, or in my youngest daughters case, of loosing her unless they operated straight away, I can tell you, rational thoughts and filling out a "customer feed-back form" are the furtherest things from your mind.

Our taxes are already paying for a base level of care. That's the whole point of this thread. However, that base level is now too low. Increasing the Medicare levy would see more funds injected into the public hospital system where it is needed.

In reality, I shouldn't need to carry 2 insurances. Medicare being one, private being the other. But I do. Do I like paying twice? No. Do I like the fact that neither the Medicare rebate to doctors, or the amount my private insurance covers reflects the true costs of providing those services? No. But, unless something is done about it, we will end up going the way of other countries, where only the rich have access to good medical services.

[Eevo]

When I had my back surgery, I was given the option of going private by the surgeon, however, he didn't have any openings for 2 weeks. OR, I could be transferred to a public hospital, where he could operate the next day.


And as for complaining, well, that is a bit difficult when you cant even move.

Our taxes are already paying for a base level of care. That's the whole point of this thread. However, that base level is now too low. Increasing the Medicare levy would see more funds injected into the public hospital system where it is needed.

In reality, I shouldn't need to carry 2 insurances. Medicare being one, private being the other.

uncommon for the public to have to smaller wait than private. my mother works in a hospital (with no ED) in medical records, i consistently hear about how long you would have to wait in the public system.

i more meant complaining post op. sorry for not explaining my self.
i dont agree the base level is too low but that links into the next paragraph.

i dont agree with paying for both medicare and private health insurance. its double dipping by the govt.

[101RRS]

Part of the problem is private patients have higher priority in public hospitals than public patients.

Public hospitals are built with public money and should be for public patients - private patients should be only dealt with in private hospitals - of course all individuals irrespective of whether they have private or public cover can be dealt with in the public system as a public patient.

I just disagree that private patients being treated as private patients should be given priority for public beds (the hospital makes more money).

The priority for public beds should be on the basis of need, not who pays the hospital the most.

Garry

[Eevo]

well said

[Lotz-A-Landies]

Some time ago I worked doing extra shifts as an agency nurse working mainly in private hospital ICU and CCU

On many shifts the whole unit would be staffed by agency RN with no MO in the unit, we would flip a coin to decide who would be in charge. One place doing cardiac surgery and CCU we had only one saturation probe for 4 patients so had to share the probe and do extra arterial blood gas analysis all at a cost to the patient. We took the blood, stuck it into the machine, read the results and modified the ventilation on that result. The ABG machine was connected to a private pathology company and the patient billed as if it was all done by the Surgeon.

Do I think private hospitals are safe? Not always,

[ATH]

I haven't read all this thread but will say that I certainly have no complaints with the care I've received from the public health system in WA. When my right knee went completely I had the TKR within 3 weeks, very full on physio afterwards and it's been very good but obviously took a bit of getting used to.
A neighbour had his done privately at St John of God Subiaco (Our love of God inspires/guides us but don't forget your fat wallet) and had to have it redone with a couple of months. He was not a happy vegemite.:D
We used to pay full private cover until the pollies stuffed it up 30 years or so ago with their stupid wrangling about how it should be done.
Now the so called "not for profit" insurers provide cover but not the full cost but hey, there's plenty of big paying soft jobs for the fat arses to polish chairs.:o
AlanH.

[Lotz-A-Landies]

Part of the problem is private patients have higher priority in public hospitals than public patients.

Public hospitals are built with public money and should be for public patients - private patients should be only dealt with in private hospitals - of course all individuals irrespective of whether they have private or public cover can be dealt with in the public system as a public patient.

I just disagree that private patients being treated as private patients should be given priority for public beds (the hospital makes more money).

The priority for public beds should be on the basis of need, not who pays the hospital the most.

GarryThats not necessarily true.

Public hospitals could not meet their budget without private patient subsidies, the big problem these days is that before Medibank (Medicare version 1) about 80% of patients were privately insured, the remaining 20% were treated by the HMO for free as an offest for their treating their private patients in the hospital, the 20% uninsured did get billed but it almost never happened that the debt collectors were sent out. The hospitals costs were covered by the fees charged to the 80%. (4 insured patients subsidising 1 uninsured).

Since Medicare the rate of insurance has dropped as low as 30% with some rebound in recent years, but a lot of the insured go to private hospitals which were at one time rare in Australia. The situation is that for every insured patient in a public hospital today there are about 3 or 4 uninsured patients, so the previous cross-subsidisation is negligible.

Private patients get allocated beds in the same priority as public patients although private surgeons do often have private theatre lists where they can treat private charged patients.

We just built a new building but without the public and private corporations donating millions of dollars the government would not have fronted with the other half.

[THE BOOGER]

I cant complain spent 2 hours at Fairfield hospital (Sydney) last night small accident with a ferret hatch seen by nurse in less than 1 min, xray in about 10, doctor about 5 min after that, had to wait for plastic surgeon for about an hour he supervised a resident putting what is left of my finger back together and made apt to see plastics again in a week. Less than 2,5 hrs all up:D

[superquag]

Thats not necessarily true.

Public hospitals could not meet their budget without private patient subsidies, the big problem these days is that before Medibank (Medicare version 1) about 80% of patients were privately insured, the remaining 20% were treated by the HMO for free as an offest for their treating their private patients in the hospital, the 20% uninsured did get billed but it almost never happened that the debt collectors were sent out. The hospitals costs were covered by the fees charged to the 80%. (4 insured patients subsidising 1 uninsured).

.


NOW she tells me ! :o

- Agree. When I had my crash at 17, I had no private insurance and the public hospital eventually sent me an account, which I paid. I was too honest (!) to NOT pay...
From memory it was'nt too onerous, (Took a few months to service...) but sufficient to wake me up and I've had private cover ever since.

[mick88]

Emergency Departments are for Emegencies!
So many people present to them unnecessariuly with ailments that should either be seen by a GP or remedied at home.
Hence the reason patients have to wait for hours in the waiting room and ambulances are ramped for hours on end with patients on stretchers.
It happens almost everywhere.


Cheers, Mick.

[Lotz-A-Landies]

I cant complain spent 2 hours at Fairfield hospital (Sydney) last night small accident with a ferret hatch seen ...Those hatches can be dangerous, hope your hand heals O.K.! :(