Public Hospital Adventures
A couple of weeks ago the family had a weekend away. Several other families attended, and, as is always the risk with these things, Twin One had a fall and hurt her wrist.
Taking the advice of SWMBO, an RN by profession, we decided to wait a few day to see if it would settle down.
You guessed it ... after three days, no improvement. Thinking that we could wait no longer, we decided to get it looked at. The choice was going through our GP, or the local hospital. We opted on the latter and yours truly took the morning off work to take her.
As an aside, Twin One completed the trifecta. Three kids, three visits over the past couple of years.
We arrived and were assessed within half an hour of presenting. The first doctor, as it eventually turned out, was spot on. A fracture of the scaphoid bone. After a quick visit to x-ray, which proved inconclusive, it was decided to plaster her arm and arrange to return in a week's time to reassess.
Total time expended: 2.5 hrs. Total cost: Nil.
The second visit was just as uneventful as the first. We were assessed again by a different doctor. I'm assuming here he was the orthopaedic registrar. I doesn't matter. He picked up a blemish on the original x-ray, which was confirmed when a new x-ray was taken. Ordered that the arm be re-plastered.
We were given the option of paying $25 for a waterproof synthetic cast in a choice of colours. Seemed cheap to avoid the hassle of trying to keep the thing dry for the next few weeks.
Total time expended: 2 hrs. Total cost: $25
The NSW public hospital system has received a lot of stick over the years, but our experience this time was similar to the other two times. A bit of waiting, but excellent treatment, and at no cost apart from the optional waterproof cast. I know that things can be different if it's busy and different locations may not be as well resourced, but from our experiencethe system works well.
If we'd gone the GP route, we would have used private radiologists and, despite having private health insurance, been out of pocket. It would have taken longer, as we would have had to drive to different locations.
I've often wondered whether we'd be better off trousering the cost of our health insurance, which costs towards $2000 per year. You'd be forgiven in thinking that the cost of the cast would be covered, but (what a surprise!) it's not.
Is it any wonder that many of those who do insure still use the public system?
Is it any wonder that so many people don't insure? Faced with prohibitive cost, a public system that works passably well, and insurance cover that never refunds the full cost of the service, most people can't see the point.
Personally, I'd be happy to support a scheme that foregos private health cover, and contribute a similar amount to enhance the public system.
Banner Designed By:
