No room at the Inn

[HBHB]

Largely & In reality the healthcare system isn't broken, it's just over utilised by people who don't need it.

Day and night, the hospitals are full of people who simply don't need to be there. People who've had a toothache for 3 weeks, can't sleep and so call an Ambulance using 000 at 3 in the morning. Infected fingers for 2 weeks that get bumped in the night, call an ambulance. Head colds, runny noses, psych cases off their meds, teenagers who only had one drink (plus the 15 before leaving home as a pre-load) fingernails with a small haematoma under them, ingrown toenails, coughs colds pox and coldsores tennis elbow and itchy moles. Then there's acopic elderly who need a warm hand and hot tea to get them through one more night alone, homeless old guys in need of a feed and the trippers who aren't safe on the street. The drug seeking bored housewife with a belly ache and the drink driver who is getting a blood test because they suddenly developed "asthma" and can't blow in the tube.

Add to that, the usual aches pains and broken bones, life threatening arrhythmias, strokes and bleeds and you get a system that's bursting with over use.

The key isn't more hospitals, but in educating people when to use it and when to tough it out to see a GP in the morning or when to crack open the packet of band aids.

The system isn't perfect, but would be a whole lot more efficient without numpties filling the corridors.

Glad to be out of it.

Trust you're now on the mend.

 

[Online Brewing Supplies]

You ever go to the local GP , mine takes a week to get in , thats part of the problem.
I went to emergency twice to be told there is nothing wrong, then on the third visit they said you had a heart attack.
Both services suck but at least I am alive, could have turned bad if I wasnt persistent. I have great respect for the staff working in hospitals especially those in emergency, they have to deal with all sorts of situations.They do prioritise the patients on perceived need and I was seen quickly but diagnosis was not made accurately.
We have a few new hospitals opening in WA but I fear it will still not be enough and they tend to close the old ones which doesn't help.
When elections come I look for the party with the best health care agenda.
Nev

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

You ever go to the local GP , mine takes a week to get in , thats part of the problem.

You should live in the bush...I week is the minimum wait. Although there was a move to provide more medicare licences to rural areas and restrict city licences to force Doctors out to rural areas

And yes, education is a key thing. Plenty of people out there that go to ED for the sake of going to ED

 

[Bribie G]

I have a 67 year old female friend who got Hep C back in the good old days, and a family member of SWMBO's of similar age who likewise got the disease. She and the first mentioned lady have been good buddies for many decades.

The friend has only ever been treated by a Chinese "doctor" in Fortitude Valley. This month at the insistence of her sisters and daughter she was frog marched to the local GP for the first time in maybe 35 years and was sent in for CT scans, barium meals whatever. She was diagnosed in great shape - she still has a body that most 45 year old women would kill to have - but does have a virus load.

The family member on the other hand is probably the GP's best customer and nearly got killed on an Interferon program that didn't work and left her at 35 kilos as well as costing the taxpayer maybe a hundred grand. She can only eat white rice, plain boiled vegetables and eggs. I remember her in her 40s and she was a mountain bike riding surfing babe, now she's a shrivelled up L.O.Lady. She does have a similar virus load to the friend.

Whilst modern Western medicine is clearly responsible for vast improvements in treatment and quality of life for much of the population, as Nev pointed out it can't fix everything but is derailed by being flooded by people who think it can.

My GP, congratulating me on some recent weight loss and good blood pressure said that if everyone who is taking more than two medications a day for chronic conditions were sent off to boot camp, became totally fit for their age and the right weight, half of them could throw away their medication and the other half could cut it in two, at least. He got onto a bit of a rant at that stage (he's Irish) and said that the majority of his patients sit around on their arses all day then when they get sick they come to him for a prescription that will fix them, preferably while they sleep, so that they can wake up the next morning and put in another full day of sitting on their arses.

end rant.

OP: keep batting on mate.

 

[wide eyed and legless]

I think HBHB you missed the first post, my grievance was about the private health cover, the 2 private hospitals were both full, I did ask the nurse the following morning how come they were full and she said because most people are private and they are always full. Though the government should be doing a lot more for the whole health system, they want to sell off medibank private but they will still need more hospitals and people to staff them.
Bribie I have a theory and I think your doctor is right, when I sit there having the chemo I have a good look at the other patients, most are old and overweight which is one of the requirements for getting cancer, I have wondered that once a person retires they may loose a sense of purpose and therefore the drive and if that may be a cause of getting cancer, I would be saying to them what your doctor says ,get off your arse and do something.
As for myself the results after the first round of chemo (9 weeks) were good almost 50% reduction in the size of the tumour I have just completed another 7 weeks and I can tell the tumour has shrunk again I can now swallow without any difficulty ( the tumour was partially blocking my esophagus and preventing me from swallowing, that was the only reason I knew there was something wrong ) I would never recommend chemo to anyone unless it was a last resort it only works on 30% of the patients and cancer can make itself immune to it, apart from that it doesn't do the body any good and it can make you feel like ****, I have a CT scan tomorrow then I have to go back to the surgeon for the result, thanks to all the well wishers who have commented and pm'd me.
I may become a 7th Day Adventist they live longer and are healthier according to research

 

[Online Brewing Supplies]

Well a vego diet never killed anyone, me included.
Drinking and smoking nearly did
Nev

 

[Bribie G]

7th day Adventists live longer because they don't drink, smoke or fornicate ... rules me out (although I don't smoke).

 

[Liam_snorkel]

I may become a 7th Day Adventist they live longer and are healthier according to research

But could you live with yourself? haha

 

[Grott]

does "live longer" necessarily mean your've lived?

 

[wide eyed and legless]

I expect most saw the doco on Monday night then, "Can I eat meat" Dr Michael Mosley
No Grott living longer doesn't mean you've lived, it means the exact opposite, there is no way I could live like those 7th Day Adventists though the Sheila was a bit tasty, ( what a waste )
We only get one crack at life so why waste it, I feel sorry for any religious followers they are going to be so disappointed when they die, though I suppose they will never know it.

 

[HBHB]

I think HBHB you missed the first post, my grievance was about the private health cover, the 2 private hospitals were both full, I did ask the nurse the following morning how come they were full and she said because most people are private and they are always full. Though the government should be doing a lot more for the whole health system, they want to sell off medibank private but they will still need more hospitals and people to staff them.
Bribie I have a theory and I think your doctor is right, when I sit there having the chemo I have a good look at the other patients, most are old and overweight which is one of the requirements for getting cancer, I have wondered that once a person retires they may loose a sense of purpose and therefore the drive and if that may be a cause of getting cancer, I would be saying to them what your doctor says ,get off your arse and do something.
As for myself the results after the first round of chemo (9 weeks) were good almost 50% reduction in the size of the tumour I have just completed another 7 weeks and I can tell the tumour has shrunk again I can now swallow without any difficulty ( the tumour was partially blocking my esophagus and preventing me from swallowing, that was the only reason I knew there was something wrong ) I would never recommend chemo to anyone unless it was a last resort it only works on 30% of the patients and cancer can make itself immune to it, apart from that it doesn't do the body any good and it can make you feel like ****, I have a CT scan tomorrow then I have to go back to the surgeon for the result, thanks to all the well wishers who have commented and pm'd me.
I may become a 7th Day Adventist they live longer and are healthier according to research

Not missed altogether mate. It's not just a public health system that gets stretched, it's getting to the point where the private system is as well, as you discovered. But at the end of the day somewhere up around 60% of people presenting to the ED's don't really need to be there in the first place.



Thoughts are with you while you go through this challenge with the Tumour. Here's hoping for a full and speedy recovery.

 

[Bribie G]

I presented at the ED last week with a tick on my neck (Pommy tick virgin). Now I just head to Petbarn.

 

[Dave70]

I may become a 7th Day Adventist they live longer and are healthier according to research

Ba Ha Ha!

Like my mates parents, you'll be disappointed. Greatly.

http://youtu.be/0ive-vWKGNU

 

[AndrewQLD]

I presented at the ED last week with a tick on my neck (Pommy tick virgin). Now I just head to Petbarn.

You could just as easily gone to the Chemist/Pharmacy and saved the public hospital system dollars, my local Chemist removed a tick from my chest in about 30 seconds.

 

[wide eyed and legless]

I got a tick right in the groin while holidaying at Mallacoota, I sat on the bed and squeezed it out and put it on the bedside table, it started to crawl off and I cracked it open with my thumb nail. Later I told my wife and took her to the bedroom to show her but the little blighter had crawled away leaving a little trail. Needless to say I made my wife sleep on that side of the bed for the rest of the holiday.

 

[stm]

The key isn't more hospitals, but in educating people when to use it and when to tough it out to see a GP in the morning or when to crack open the packet of band aids.

The system isn't perfect, but would be a whole lot more efficient without numpties filling the corridors.

Problem is if it is free, then no amount of education will fix this. Plenty of bludgers know how to work the system and get free stuff nowadays.

 

[stm]

7th day Adventists live longer because they don't drink, smoke or fornicate ... rules me out (although I don't smoke).

They don't live longer, it just seems that way!!!

 

[stm]

And just to clarify, there is no shortage of revenue coming into the government - have a look at a graph of tax revenue and you'll see it continues to rise dramatically. 49% top marginal rate anyone? If you keep increasing taxes, then no-one will want to work or produce things, and we'll have even more problems with funding hospitals.

Main thing the government can do is stop wasting money on stupid unaffordable schemes, massive welfare for all, and giving money to their mates.

 

[benno1973]

Problem is if it is free, then no amount of education will fix this. Plenty of bludgers know how to work the system and get free stuff nowadays.

There's plenty of options out there, lots of them easier than heading to the hospital/ED. After hours GPs are one option, as are home servicing GPs. We have an after hours home visit GP service available here, completely bulk billed - I'm sure if people were educated on using that for non-emergencies, it would go some way to reducing ED queues. Unfortunately, most people just head straight to the ED when something is wrong.

BTW - For those Perth peeps wanting to get an idea of how long they might have to wait at their local ED, the Health Department have a live system (which might make you think twice about which ED you head to!):

http://www.health.wa.gov.au/EmergencyActivity/edsv/index.cfm

 

[Airgead]

And just to clarify, there is no shortage of revenue coming into the government - have a look at a graph of tax revenue and you'll see it continues to rise dramatically. 49% top marginal rate anyone? If you keep increasing taxes, then no-one will want to work or produce things, and we'll have even more problems with funding hospitals.

Actually that's complete bollocks. Tax revenues per capita are the lowest in just about forever. The government has an income problem. Corporate tax reciepts are plunging. Resource reciepts as a percentage of resource revenue are plunging. Income tax and GST are steady (population adjusted). Expenditures on the other hand are going up. The raw tax reciepts are going up but on a per capita or per unit gdp they are way down. The major source of income now is income tax rather than company taxes (49% tax rate anyone).

Some nice charts here (along with a reasonably nuanced discussion of the issue) - http://www.theguardian.com/business/grogonomics/2014/may/01/australia-needs-revenue-reform-tinkering-income-tax-wont-cut-it and more here http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-08/does-australia-have-a-revenue-problem/5420474

Service costs on the other hand are going up. Hospitals, schools, defence, all that stuff.

Seems people want services but won't elect people who raise taxes to pay for them.