Canberra Hospital, waiting over a month for triage

DrKoresh said :

JC said :

To start with the old girl was filthy and cynical when she was sent home, but now understands the reason for it and is very appreciative of the car she has received.

They didn’t give me a car when I broke my leg… :'(

OMG I reckon you have been diddled by the Chief Minister. Maybe you should complain about how poor the health service is.

JC said :

To start with the old girl was filthy and cynical when she was sent home, but now understands the reason for it and is very appreciative of the car she has received.

They didn’t give me a car when I broke my leg… :'(

1337Hax0r said :

I have been on the waiting list at the Canberra Hospital for over a year for minor surgery. It has gotten to the point that I am considering just buying a scalpel and doing it myself. I can clean the skin surface pretty easily, but finding a product to anesthetize the skin has proven difficult. I was thinking of inviting along the media to embarrass the hell out of both the hospital and local government. Bloody third world heath services in this territory if you ask me.

Clearly you are waiting for surgery that is NOT life threatening. Maybe not good you need to wait, but it is hardly third world. In the third world you maybe, get this have to pay for the surgery rather than it being free like it is here, and being the third world you probably couldn’t afford it anyway.

I have found in this country if you need surgery right there and then you get it. Recent example my mum who went under the knife 4 weeks ago. She needed surgery and she got it. She was looked after in the hospital until she was well enough to go home (which took about 10 days) and since she has been home has been looked after by the hospital in the home team. To start with the old girl was filthy and cynical when she was sent home, but now understands the reason for it and is very appreciative of the car she has received.

So hardly 3rd world, to me your issue is a first world problem, you expect something for free and expect it right now when reality is medical care is finite, they have to prioritise which means some have to wait. Throwing more money at it isn’t the answer either.

dungfungus said :

The “free” public health system appears to be overused by the sector that does not pay the Medicare levy and as there are minimal bulk billing GP services available in Canberra they turn up at ED for services that could normally be provided by a GP. These people need to contribute a co-payment for anything other than emergency matters. Most of them can afford $20 for a packet of fags so another $20 for treatment isn’t too much to ask.

Spot on.

I have doubts the local council would have the intestinal fortitude to implement such a sensible suggestion.

poppy said :

Squidward said :

Where do you get the letter of referral from? A GP, the GP will decide if its an emergency life or death situation and if so send you straight to hospital. If you will survive slightly longer than that, a referral is what you get. I think some people have forgotten the difference between emergency, urgent, and self entitlement.

So, you don’t think there are or should be options in between going to A & E and waiting months for your referral to be even looked at and assigned a priority? People do get problems that aren’t immediately life threatening, but should be seen within a couple of days/weeks. I have previously been given referrals from primary health care providers that they have faxed to specialists (not at Canberra Hospital), the specialist or their staff has looked at them within a couple of days and decided that I should be seen within a couple of weeks, and shouldn’t wait the normal 3- 6 months. In this case my problem isn’t an emergency, but I do think my referral should have been triaged within a couple of weeks, and outcome advised to me. At least when informed promptly, the patient can consider other options if need be.

I agree with you 100%
I was just stating to the other poster that in a true life or death emergency they wouldn’t have to wait.

Squidward said :

Where do you get the letter of referral from? A GP, the GP will decide if its an emergency life or death situation and if so send you straight to hospital. If you will survive slightly longer than that, a referral is what you get. I think some people have forgotten the difference between emergency, urgent, and self entitlement.

So, you don’t think there are or should be options in between going to A & E and waiting months for your referral to be even looked at and assigned a priority? People do get problems that aren’t immediately life threatening, but should be seen within a couple of days/weeks. I have previously been given referrals from primary health care providers that they have faxed to specialists (not at Canberra Hospital), the specialist or their staff has looked at them within a couple of days and decided that I should be seen within a couple of weeks, and shouldn’t wait the normal 3- 6 months. In this case my problem isn’t an emergency, but I do think my referral should have been triaged within a couple of weeks, and outcome advised to me. At least when informed promptly, the patient can consider other options if need be.

1337Hax0r said :

I have been on the waiting list at the Canberra Hospital for over a year for minor surgery. It has gotten to the point that I am considering just buying a scalpel and doing it myself. I can clean the skin surface pretty easily, but finding a product to anesthetize the skin has proven difficult. .

Rubbish, Canberra is awash with cocaine !
http://the-riotact.com/canberra-paved-with-gold-and-awash-with-cocaine/93302

I have been on the waiting list at the Canberra Hospital for over a year for minor surgery. It has gotten to the point that I am considering just buying a scalpel and doing it myself. I can clean the skin surface pretty easily, but finding a product to anesthetize the skin has proven difficult. I was thinking of inviting along the media to embarrass the hell out of both the hospital and local government. Bloody third world heath services in this territory if you ask me.

Tetranitrate said :

Squidward said :

If a patient had an emergency they wouldnt be waiting… Simple.

Oh look, another imbecile who doesn’t understand what triage is and why it’s a problem that triage isn’t happening in a timely fashion.

Let me spell it out for you: Triage is when they decide if it’s an emergency. It’s when they assign priorities. Nobody has made any decision about how urgent OP’s matter is because the OP hasn’t been triaged at all, which was the whole point of their post, one that you somehow seem to have missed.

Where do you get the letter of referral from? A GP, the GP will decide if its an emergency life or death situation and if so send you straight to hospital. If you will survive slightly longer than that, a referral is what you get. I think some people have forgotten the difference between emergency, urgent, and self entitlement.

Squidward said :

If a patient had an emergency they wouldnt be waiting… Simple.

Oh look, another imbecile who doesn’t understand what triage is and why it’s a problem that triage isn’t happening in a timely fashion.

Let me spell it out for you: Triage is when they decide if it’s an emergency. It’s when they assign priorities. Nobody has made any decision about how urgent OP’s matter is because the OP hasn’t been triaged at all, which was the whole point of their post, one that you somehow seem to have missed.