Public Hospitals Are A Disgrace!

[hails]

Hi all,

I am writing this in absolute disgust with our public health system! I had an appointment with a specialist yesterday and was refered for surgery, I thought ok I can deal with this but when I spoke with the public hospital today I was told that I was a category 2 patient which meant the surgery should be done within 90 days but as our hospitals are in such a bad state I would be waiting for 12 months if not more! How the hell am I a mother of 3 small children supposed to cope with tendon tears in both my left and right shoulders for 12 months or more and as I was told that I should not have anymore cortosone injections (I have only had 1 in my right shoulder) how am I supposed to cope with pain.

As with most regular australian family's we found Private health insurance premiums too high and decided when the children were older we would look into it, but I guess I have no option but to join a private health insurer, although they have an exclusion period where you can't claim for pre-existing injuries for 12 months at least I will be able to choose the surgeon I want to do it and be gauranteed that in 12 months and 1 day I could be operated on, not like the public system where it could be 18 months if there are people considered worse than me.

I am really at a loss as to how I am supposed to cope with 2 buggered and very painfull shoulders over the next 12 months! not to mention how to care for my 3 children, I mean my husband is a great help but he can only do so much.

[emmae]

Hi Hails,
Sorry to hear about your predicement, your are stuck between a hard place and a rock, I agree our public hospital system sucks. Have you thought about taking out health insurance for just yourself. I am single with HBA and pay $64 a month for private health with extras which include physio, chiro, oesto etc. I looked around and found HBA to be one of the cheapest. Some insurance companies ofer special deals, like waved waiting peroids for some things, might be worth a try, good luck. Emma

[kjwilkin]

Hi Hails,

There is a really good site called isecure. They help you find the most appropriate health insurance. It's worth giving them a call. My friend has just used them to find the right cover.

With cortisone injections you can have a couple a year.

Have you thought about going to see a sports physician ? They may have some other ideas. For example, my sports physician suggested I start pilates. It has really helped with strengthening up my shoulder. I was due to have surgery for multi-directional instability but have put it off for the meantime.

Good luck and let us know how you go.

[Nicholas]

I agree Hails!!! Public hospitals are a disgrace!
The bad things about private hospital is that they don't have the best surgeons in Australia. Public hospitals may be a lot cheaper than private hospitals but they are a lot more inconvenient. Waiting 12 months for surgery?! Now that is just inconvenient. Shame.

[kjwilkin]

Hi Nicholas,

I think you mean that public hospitals don't have the best surgeons.

You can choose your own surgeon by going to a private hospital.

[Mischap123]

Hi Hails, Sorry to hear of your predicament. Most ppl agree on this one. Unfortunately you get what you pay for. The beauty of private health insurance is that you choose when, where and who does it. It's certainly worth it based on that fact alone. Don't delay as you'll have a waiting period before you claim but remember to shop around as the funds vary greatly. Good Luck

[Nicholas]

I heard a story on Seven news last night about a 10 year old girl in Dubbo who has to wait 12 months for surgery to remove her tonsils. Now that is inconvienient!!!!!! Having to wait 12 months for any kind of surgery!!! (I think she will have it done in a public hospital)

[angieliu]

Hails, sorry to hear that your experiences with the public system have not been great and that things are looking better since your last post.
With private health insurance, the benefits are that you can choose your own surgeon which is most important rather than having a registrar do your surgery. However after going through the whole ordeal of finding a private health insurance fund, I found that if you do have a prexisting injury requiring surgery you can wait up to 12 months too.