Medical wait times unacceptable.

Amen brother.

I had a kidney stone earlier in the year. A big one – 6mm – that had me doubled over in pain. I’ve had stones before so I know what the warning signs feel like and when to go to hospital.

4 hours in a waiting room. So much pain that I almost passed out. I’ve learnt (past experience) not to make noise or the nurses just move you down the list. Triage nurses are *sadistic*.

After 4 hours they eventually waved me through the door to a bed. Still took nearly another 2 hours to see a doctor. Then another 2 hours to get the scan that showed the 6mm stone. Pain levels hovering around 8 out of 10 for nearly a whole day with nothing to help other a muscle relaxant administered at hour 6.

Because that wasn’t life-threatening – merely painful – the doctor gave me a pack of panadeine forte and sent me home. I was in agony the next 3 days, unable to sleep (literally), and the only thing that kept me sane was a 45 degree bath. That’s a trick for other stone sufferers – the stupidly hot bath makes the pain bearable for some reason. You still can’t eat or sleep or think, but at least you don’t scream.

For anybody who thinks this is all melodramatic, until you’ve had a decent-sized kidney stone you won’t understand. It’s like being stabbed with a rusty knife, every few seconds, with the occasional twist of the knife so you know it’s there, right in the guts. You can’t think. You can’t sleep. You can’t even sit still. You throw up and dry retch from the agonising pain. I wouldn’t wish a stone on my worst enemy. People have committed *suicide* rather than live with the pain of a stone.

ScienceRules said :

apstoo said :

I don’t understand why some people insist on treating people like crap just because they can. For those people who have never had anxiety, it is really hard to handle some situations, and with me it is waiting rooms. I stayed as long as I could. The thing is, in this country, no one should have to wait 3 hours to see a doctor.

And if you go to a GP, you won’t. If you insist on taking up space in an ED you will quite justifiably wait until the more deserving cases are seen.

But are you really saying you’re a transexual pre-diabetic Aboriginal with an anxiety disorder? Wow. Seriously, do yourself a favour and get to a doctor mate.

This could be a contemporary example of Darwinism at work. A person with medical issues who won’t see the doctor because of other under lying medical issues. Survival of the fittest? Not here, it seems….

apstoo said :

I don’t understand why some people insist on treating people like crap just because they can.

You came to rant, you got feedback and most of it is telling you that you need to wait as long as it takes to be seen. I do get that doing that can be stressful, I deal with that daily, but this is a case where you need to find a way to deal or book in and pay at a surgery. This isn’t a cut finger, it is serious. See a Dr asap.

apstoo said :

I don’t understand why some people insist on treating people like crap just because they can. For those people who have never had anxiety, it is really hard to handle some situations, and with me it is waiting rooms. I stayed as long as I could. The thing is, in this country, no one should have to wait 3 hours to see a doctor.

And if you go to a GP, you won’t. If you insist on taking up space in an ED you will quite justifiably wait until the more deserving cases are seen.

But are you really saying you’re a transexual pre-diabetic Aboriginal with an anxiety disorder? Wow. Seriously, do yourself a favour and get to a doctor mate.

ASPERGERS AND AUTISM ARE THE SAME THING!

You sould like a hypochondriac.

And you sound like an ignorant arsehole.

I’ve had a gutful of Internet keyboard warrior experts telling the world that Aspergers and Autism are the same. They are not.

I don’t understand why some people insist on treating people like crap just because they can. For those people who have never had anxiety, it is really hard to handle some situations, and with me it is waiting rooms. I stayed as long as I could. The thing is, in this country, no one should have to wait 3 hours to see a doctor.

I semi regularly have to wait with my elderly father in the Emergency Department at the Canberra Hospital. Maybe 15 times in 8 years, not including my annual childrens hospital visit (at least one is guaranteed to have an emergency visit annually on average)
My wife and I do it in shifts of a few hours each to break the monotany. There is a quick backdoor method to get in straight away, simply call an ambulance and tell them you are not dying but need assistance to get to the hospital due to……….whatever reason.
I found this out as I was away for work and my wife could not lift my dad into her car, so she rang an ambulance and explained the circumstances. They simply sent around an ambulance within 20 minutes and he went straight to a bed in Emergency, thus circumventing the triage nurse system.
If you are a pensioner the trip is free but if not the bill would have been $855, what a crazy system!! I might need to invest in ambulance cover and forget the GP lineup in the future.
However, jokes aside, it is a sad system indeed that favours such innappropriate behaviour.

and for support, contact A Gender Agenda. http://www.genderrights.org.au/index.php/contacts
They are lovely people.

IP

There are still APS2s?

/checks APSC remuneration survey

$53K?!

Henry82 said :

curmudgery said :

I read your post. You are your own worst enemy..

+1 You basically left the line twice, and started again from the back.

Read the OP’s other RA post: http://the-riotact.com/looking-for-a-nice-place-to-work-or-change-of-career/115641

That’ll explain alot about the OP’s ‘difficulty’.

And without meaning to be cruel to you apstoo, you obviously don’t have “Autism Spectrum Disorder and/or Aspergers Syndrome”. If you’d actually been diagnosed by a psychologist or psychiatrist (using DSM-IV), you’d know that Aspergers IS ON THE AUTISM SPECTRUM. ASPERGERS AND AUTISM ARE THE SAME THING!

You sould like a hypochondriac.

And your mental health qualifications are what?

It is common for someone to be given various different diagnoses by different professionals, and not to be sure which is the true one. I have seen numerous people who have said they have Bipolar, Schizophrenia, Manic-Depression, Depression, Schizo-Affective Disorder, etc. because different people diagnose them differently across their life, and also the names of the conditions change over time. And then there are the ones who tell you they suffer from anxiety, and it turns out they have Paranoid Schizophrenia – yep, that sure would make you anxious… And the medication? That is to help me sleep. Yep, it sure does.

Aspergers and Autism are usually talked about as separate but related syndromes, the main difference being a matter of severity of symptoms. DSM-V has also changed the picture somewhat for Autism Spectrum Disorders.

IP

No matter how much you complain unless you are in urgent need (ie going to die) you will have to wait a long time in the ER. It isn’t a health centre and is not first come first served. You are not an urgent patient, you should be at a doctors office and will be treated as such.
Get your backside to a clinic and wait it out – doesn’t matter how long. With blood sugar that high and potentially getting higher you need medical attention now (just not heart attack or car accident now) or you may (if it is diabetes related) end up with permanent damage or in a coma. Stop making excuses, if you hadn’t walked the first time you would be getting treatment already.

apstoo said :

Genie said :

When you feel worse at a hospital you go back to the triage desk and update them of your symptoms.

I did that. I informed the staff of my new symptoms. Twice.

Genie said :

Suck it up, go see a doctor and WAIT YOUR TURN.

I did that too. I was the second person there and everyone else there was seen before me.

DangerMouse said :

It does sound like you need to find a GP to give you continuity of care for an ongoing and potentially serious health issue.

I agree entierly. I think that if you were gender diverse you’d soon realise how impossible it is to find such a doctor in Canberra. After dealing with doctors who were clearly transphobic, who did things like take innapropriate photos of you, who tried to sexually abuse you and worse, yeah, you might have a few issues with doctors.

DangerMouse said :

If you start work at 9am and the clinic opens at 9am, then why did you expect to rock up at 9.30 and be seen quickly? You wasted 30 mins. If they do not take appointments and you need to get to work, then arrive no later than 8.45am and stand at the door to make sure you are first seen.

No car that day. I had arranged for a pick up. Why do I get the feeling you work there and are just making excuses for their crap service?

Ok, I started out with a measure of sympathy for you but that’s all gone now.

You are an excuse-generating machine with an enormous chip on your shoulder. You seem to think that if things don’t immediately go your way it’s always someone elses fault.

If you are worried about trans-phobic doctors (and I’m sure they’re out there), take a friend or family member to the consultation with you.

That way you’ll have someone to talk to while you wait.

Genie said :

When you feel worse at a hospital you go back to the triage desk and update them of your symptoms.

I did that. I informed the staff of my new symptoms. Twice.

Genie said :

Suck it up, go see a doctor and WAIT YOUR TURN.

I did that too. I was the second person there and everyone else there was seen before me.

DangerMouse said :

It does sound like you need to find a GP to give you continuity of care for an ongoing and potentially serious health issue.

I agree entierly. I think that if you were gender diverse you’d soon realise how impossible it is to find such a doctor in Canberra. After dealing with doctors who were clearly transphobic, who did things like take innapropriate photos of you, who tried to sexually abuse you and worse, yeah, you might have a few issues with doctors.

DangerMouse said :

If you start work at 9am and the clinic opens at 9am, then why did you expect to rock up at 9.30 and be seen quickly? You wasted 30 mins. If they do not take appointments and you need to get to work, then arrive no later than 8.45am and stand at the door to make sure you are first seen.

No car that day. I had arranged for a pick up. Why do I get the feeling you work there and are just making excuses for their crap service?

I’m sorry… I’m really confused. You waited almost 4 hours to see a doctor today but because you were too fatigued and tired you went home ?

You presented at Queanbeyan hospital and once you got worse.. YOU WENT HOME ?

When you feel worse at a hospital you go back to the triage desk and update them of your symptoms.

As everyone had said, if you don’t have the patience to wait for a doctor, you’re your own worst enemy.

Suck it up, go see a doctor and WAIT YOUR TURN.

I don’t think you can get a Health Care Card on an APS 2 salary, which is above $45,000.

Perhaps if you had a big family, but I don’t know the exact amounts.

ring a few medical centres around your area… there will be one that bulk bills.

You can also go to the Dr afterhours… there are a number of clinics here in Gungahlin that do bulk billing after hours and on weekends.

if you have a car, then I suggest calling around for a Dr that bulk bills. We all gripe on the waiting times of our GP, but i’m sorry to say its a fact of life. Unless you are prepared to wait at a surgery, then you won’t be getting a certificate.

Regarding certificates, you may not be aware, but managers are able to take stat decs if no certificate is available. i.e. in your case, as an APS manager, I am, at my leisure able to accept a stat dec. check your HR guidelines. Also, you may wish to have a chat with your HR people and explain your issues.

The walk in clinic @ TCH is just that, walk in.. Last time I went there I walked in @ 930pm and was out at 10pm.

ED will not treat you as Cat 1 (as others have mentioned) so you will wait hours on hours. Just accept it.

If you are indigenous and from what seems to be from your words on a low income, then maybe hold your pride and go get some help from the Govt for a healthcare card, concession card etc.

oh and 14 for a diabetes test…. as no one has answered you, generally 5-7 is usually considered normal. This is coming from a guy who has a Type 1 and Type 2 in the family.

Wasting money on taxis and losing pay by waiting at ER is not going to solve your problem. It does sound like you need to find a GP to give you continuity of care for an ongoing and potentially serious health issue.

It is completely inappropriate to rock up to ER (Emergency Room) to get health treatment for anything that is not an emergency that cannot wait until morning. You need a GP. Even if you got in to see someone at the hospital, they would triage you as not needing treatment and recommend you see a GP. You would not be treated as an in-patient, so there is no point in continuing to block up the ER waiting room.

I can recommend the Brindabella Practice in Queanbeyan – Dr Solomon is very thorough. Appointments start at 8am and on some days they see patients up to 7.30pm. And they are open on saturdays, although there might be extra an charge for that.

I suggest that since you cannot afford to see a doctor this week, you call today and get an appointment for next week at an hour in the evening when you do not have to leave work and lose wages.

Another option is to go back to Winnunga – your OP said you got therie ‘nice and early’ about 9.30. If you start work at 9am and the clinic opens at 9am, then why did you expect to rock up at 9.30 and be seen quickly? You wasted 30 mins. If they do not take appointments and you need to get to work, then arrive no later than 8.45am and stand at the door to make sure you are first seen.

Reply

apstoo said :

I meangt the nurse told me my blood levels were a bit high and 14. 14 out of what?

Im assuming you can read…

http://www.diabetesaustralia.com.au/Living-with-Diabetes/Type-1-Diabetes/Managing-Type-1-Diabetes/Blood-Glucose-Monitoring/#Glucose Level Targets

I meangt the nurse told me my blood levels were a bit high and 14. 14 out of what?

curmudgery said :

I read your post. You are your own worst enemy.

As you know, a blood sugar level of 14 is more than ‘a little high’. It’s not the system’s fault – so stop pretending.

I don’t know the first thing about blood sugar levels. I went to the hospital, told them my symptoms and they did a test and told them my blood sugar levels were a bit high. If you know more info, please by all means explain it to me. I am assuming now that 14 is more than a bit high? Is it dangerously high?
Anyway, I should explain that I’ve had a few medical issues this year and am out of leave without a certificate time. I do have 2 days of leave with a certificate time. The probelm is if I spend a lot of time at the doctor I will run out of all sick leave and not be paid. So I can’t spend all day waiting around to see doctors that don’t show up . Due to my low income and the cost of living in Canberra plus a very hefty bill last week I have no money at all, well I have about $5. That’s it, no more, not a cent above that. I need to last till the Thursday after next on what I have. I have to conserve what fuel is in the car and what food is in the fridge and make it through to next Thursday. So I have no money to see a doctor. And before people suggesting I spend more wisely, I do. Idon’t spend money on wasteful things like smokes or drink and all the food comes from Aldi and my tv is a little 22 incher. I’m not in this situation through irrespondability. This is my life from pay to pay depite really cutting back and trying to save.
So I find myself in the catch 22 situation of not being able to afford to go to a doctor who I can get an appointment with and I don’t have the sick leave to spend 5 hours waiting to see doctors.
Despite that I went back to the Queanbeyan hospital today and was in there about 9:30. Again I saw the triage nurse, and was still waiting in the waiting room at 1pm. By that time I was majorly fatiuged, had developed a massive headache and blurred vision and could not handle it any more so went home. I did ask if there was anywhere I could lie down because I was so tired, or if I could nap in my car but the staff said no. Again no medical certificate (I asked) so no pay. Plus I’m not getting any better.

OP, it sounds like a very unpleasant situation to be in.

My doctor charges about $75, but you can claim straight away, and about $30 from Medicare goes straight back into your account. So out of pocket expenses are about $45. This system is becoming more common. You can pay by credit card and have the amount credited to your savings account. If you have a credit card, I think this would be an ideal use for it!

Of course, tests can be very expensive too, but I really think that it would be worth either making the sacrifice and seeing a private doctor, or waiting it out at Winnunga. Winnunga probably has quite a bit of expertise in this area.

You could consider taking some other leave (such as recreation leave) if you have used up your sick leave.

I hope you manage to sort it all out, and find a way to bring that blood sugar level down.

If you’re an APS2, I don’t understand how you lost 2 days’ pay. I’m happy to be corrected, but I was under the impression that all Commonwealth public servants had access to some period of sick leave before they have to present a medical certificate. The fact you were seeking a certificate indicates you were trying to access your sick leave, but since you weren’t paid, it means your HR/payroll dept processed leave without pay for that period (which means either your sick leave application was rejected or you deliberately applied for LWOP).

Again, happy to be corrected, but most places I’ve ever heard of would allow you to access your annual leave if you were out of sick leave and were genuinely sick, or would allow you to use your flex time (even to the point of accruing a flex debt) for a genuine illness. In short, most places would want you to be paid if at all possible if you were sick. If you lost two days’ pay, there’s a lot more going on here than you’ve mentioned.

The usually doctor apologists appear to have given you a hard time already, so I’ll lay off. Having waited close to 2 hours for my appointment at the Ainslie medical practice(which I left work early to make in time) I would seriously steer clear of them. I now go to Florey, the Dr I see sometimes bulk bills, but there’s no real method to it so don’t count on it. They also have a walk in facility (which I’ve also used before) and most people get seen very quickly.

What I have learned is that for the most part, people working in the ‘off the street’ health industry- emergency rooms, super medical clincs – really don’t care squat for your personal (non medical related) circumstances. I sympathise and I don’t think you are to blame for having to wait so long, especially at your first appointment.

It sounds very likely that you have diabetes. You should probably do what it takes to see a doctor ASAP, before you have a stroke or your kidneys shut down, at which point money and wait times will be the least of your concerns.

i think its funny that you wanted a medical certificate out of 2 places without having seen a doctor at either.

and complaining after a 2 1/2 hour wait at emergency? who’s to know that the other 8 serious cases out the back weren’t life threatening – eg strokes, MIs or similar. just because you can’t see it doesn’t mean nothing serious is happening out back.

what was your complaint going to say about Qbn hospital? That you had to wait you turn, that you were not classed as a category 1 patient, that the nurse sounded tired and bored and lacked empathy? Do you think they’ve never heard “but I’m dyyyyyying” from each and every whinger that comes through the door? They know what is serious and treat patients accordingly.

You were not classed as an emergency at either hospital. accept that. You were probably a cat 4 patient which means “you have come here without needing to either because you don’t want to to go a doctor or don’t want to pay for one so you’ll have to wait your turn to be seen”. You had the choice to wait at your first medical centre and you chose not to. If you had waited for your turn, you may well’ve been granted your doctor’s certificate. If you had got that you wouldn’t have lost one day of your pay.

Your stuffed yourself up by your own actions.

Agree with other posters that you need to find a good GP and get a care management plan in place. I recommend Garema Place Surgery but if you’re after somewhere closer to the border I’ve heard good things about Brindabella Family Practice.

It’s people like you who cause the extended wait times. It’s not an emergency, of course they aren’t going to see you before the people who actually need to be there.

The cost to see a GP after medicare rebates is about $40. You would have been better off saving your taxi fares, time and lost wages by just sucking it up and seeing a local GP. Then all those poor people who had to deal with the likes of you would have been spared.

Your blood sugar is more than just a little high when reading at 14. Even if that wasn’t a fasting read, it is still very high. Get to a doctor and get it seen to before your kidneys shut down and you spend the rest of years days on dialysis waiting for a transplant…

curmudgery said :

I read your post. You are your own worst enemy..

+1 You basically left the line twice, and started again from the back.

It’s rough feeling sick, but were you too sick to go to or stay at work, but not sick enough to wait to see a doctor?

Parking is free at Winnunga, and there are good bus services, so getting a taxi there and back sounds like it was your own choice.

If you really must, go to an emergency department outside work hours and just sit and wait.

There is also the long-hours GP Superclinic walking distance from Queanbeyan hospital.

If you are indigenous, as going to Winnunga suggests, then you are in a high risk group for diabetes, and you should go back to a doctor pronto. Please.

IP

I read your post. You are your own worst enemy.

As you know, a blood sugar level of 14 is more than ‘a little high’. It’s not the system’s fault – so stop pretending.

Sorry but some of the responsibility for not being seen is your own.

You know you’re feeling unwell so you’ve done the right thing and gone to get testing done. After your first blood test you received an urgent request to attend a medical facility to discuss the results and you decided not to wait. That is unlikely to have been the best choice you could have made given the circumstances.

Emergency Departments either at TCH or Queanbeyan Hospital are for emergencies, which you aren’t (yet). You will always be triaged beneath other more pressing categories of patients. This is as it should be.

You clearly need a thorough health review and ongoing care. This won’t happen at an ED. You need to hunt around for a good GP and stick with them. Most will bulk bill if you are in financial difficulties and the Riot Act is a good start for recommendations on such a doctor.

Waiting for medical attention can be frustrating, but we all have to do it. Stick at it mate and get yourself well.

Good luck!

Sounds like it would have been cheaper to just book an appointment with a non-bulk-billing doctor and pay the difference. Way cheaper.

Ask around, and find a GP who is reasonably good at keeping appointment times. I have never had to wait more than 30 mins for mine, and usually 10-15 minutes or less. Well worth an extra $20, as it would have been in your case.

Bulk-billing doctors and emergency departments are inundated with people who don’t have to pay anything – that is why the waiting times are unpredictable and often long. It’s basic economics.

Find a bulk billing doctor ?

My old Dr used to bulk bill me for certain short appointments so they have a level of discretion.