Our government are struggling to maintain their own public hospitals emergency departments standards, and are happy
to relinquish their scope of duty concerning private healthcare when it comes to ensuring these private hospitals are maintaining standards.
Very rarely will they fail accreditation or be audited, because they're perfect scape-goats for when making comparisons to their own crapped-out public hospitals emergency departments short comings. By Healthscopes own admission, their emergency departments hospital standards and failures are meeting, and are on par with the overall national standard.
This is comforting isn't it. Exactly what you want to hear before being rushed to theatre for an emergency procedure in either a private or public hospital.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.nine.c ... 5d2e5b74e9
When I was just 19, my mother drove me to the old Baulkham Hills private hospitals emergency department with severe pain, which we had no idea what it was at the time.
Burning and bloody scant urine
Severe pain in groin and lower left flank and back pain.
Sweating, no fever, almost passing out upon arrival at 11pm at night.
I was correctly diagnosed with renal colic and spent the next 16 hours passing the monster in emergency, however as the hospitals radiology department had closed before we arrived, rather than send me via ambulance to Westmead to ensure that the stone wasn't obstructed from passing, and was in fact small enough to pass ( was 9mm, ( absolute outer limit size for passing without surgical intervention btw ) .... had this stone just been 1mm larger, or even if my body just wasn't able to pass it, I could have expired. I would have gone into renal failure and died.
This young doctor was the only doctor on at this private Emergency department, so he had no other doctors to oversee his practice or assist him with the decision making process, only a couple of nurses were on. Their hands were full.
Why did my mother take me there?
Because as a private health insurance customer, we both thought that I would be seen more quickly, wouldn't have to wait for hours in agony in an uncomfortable public hospitals waiting room clutching my groin bearing-down ( you get a strange spasm and urge to push) in renal colic. Fair?
Bit uncomfortable doing this in front of strangers upright, sitting on a hard plastic chair in a public hospital waiting room, my obs were ok, so I wouldn't have been deemed more than a category 3, regardless of agony.
Much better to be canulated, push IV fluids, provide strong analgesia and be laying in a bed, laying at about a 40 degree angle. I have passed enough kidney stones at home myself since, and know the drill, so long as they're small enough to pass.
And sip Ural + ice chips
....Anyway....
Ultimately, we expected better and faster and more dignified care in a private hospitals emergency department, not having to sit amongst miscreants of all kinds late at night, was a weekend too. From S8 drug addicts seeking drugs who aren't in genuine pain to mental health cases having overdosed or abused substances and drunks going off their rockers impatiently still waiting for care after having sat in a loud, noisy uncomfortable public emergency room for hours listening to adults and kids moaning and screaming louder and louder.
The stench of sick, cigarette smoke, homlessness isn't pleasant either, in any short-staffed public hospital emergency waiting room this time of night. Aaaah that diverse rich tapestry of life/ fauna?
All sorts, especially weekends and between 9pm and 6am.
They all creep out of the woodworks late at night,
Particularly the larger city metro hospital closest to where we lived in Sydney. Westmead hospital was our closest public hospital.
Politicians who make legislation tend to attend private hospitals emergency departments, or are shuffled into a cubical or vacant family room, away from the public, so have no clue about the full public hospital ED experience. They may want to re- think their local private ED, particularly if they're having chest pain or are getting neurological symptoms, strange smells, pins and needless etc.
You get what you pay for, right?
Wrong!
My mother recently had abdominal surgery herself in a private hospital ( Brisbane Waters) who following a hysterectomy had failed to scan her bladder before she was discharged. They were going to do it, but weren't able to locate the portable ultrasound machine so decided to discharge her anyway, they needed her out because another private patient was arriving and wanted her room.
They didn't even bother providing her with medication, gave her a script that didn't have the doctors signature for an S8 drug ( opioid) so in severe pain following being discharged, she waited around at the chemist, still wearing her hospital bracelet for over an hour and a half before the hospital contacted her surgeon to email the authority number and signed script back to the chemist.
If this wasn't bad enough, the hospital failed to provide her with her post- surgical instruction sheet, do's& don'ts following a radical hysterectomy, which is the baseline standard. Like how to care for her wounds, when to remove old dressings, exercise instructions, etc.
Fortunately mum and I are both nurses, so knew to drill, however as staff weren't sure if she had the glue , sutures or both, we had to wing it a little.
You think because it's a private hospital with gorgeous food, well, edible compared to public hospital slops, and a private suite & all the luxuries that you pay through the ass for each month that going private would be the better option, right?
WRONG!!!
She had a routine procedure, and didn't want to wait years in agony and developing incontinence with 3 huge fibroids the size of golf balls in her uterus & endometriosis pressing & adhered to her bladder and risk sudden prolapse waiting to have the same procedure in a public hospital, but I did warn her, I wanted her to have the procedure at Royal North Shore public hospital, but go in as a private patient. It's a great hospital.
She would have been discharged with her drugs, instructions and would have had her bladder scan on the ward prior to discharge, and likely a home visit by community nurse also, and bulk billed, only would have had a gap fee for Dr and anaesthetist, and of course meds and agreed co-payment for admission itself with healthfund.
The maths + health and safety standards were in favour of RNS hospital, this opposed to a suite at Brisbane Waters private with a gorgeous view.
.... She didn't even see her doctor following her surgery as a private patient, she now has to wait until her 6 week post-op appointment to see him. Exactly as she would have had she had the procedure in a public hospital as a private patient anyway.
So no bladder scan
No discharged paperwork or instructions
No medication ( only a botched script that took hours to fill)
Oh, and of course they were quick to process and provide her with the hospital bill before she left the hospital.
Who's regulating these cowboys?
Our state governments apparently.
Perhaps it's an expense they have cut back on, the way they've cut back on routine checks by health authority spot checks re- restaurants, supermarkets , childcare centres etc?
We have employed all these public servants to work from home in Canberra, perhaps getting out of their PJs and fluffy slippers was too hard, so they called the hospital and asked them if they were meeting our national standards instead.
All these kids dying in private child care centres buses, perhaps they called them too.
Brilliant isn't it.Bottom line....
Private ER's are best used as non-gov urgent care clinics.
Not for potentially life-threatening situations you may require an ambulance for.
If you need an ambulance, go to a public major hospital in a decent postcode, I'd you live in a undesirable postcode, either drive there yourself if safe to do so or unfortunately, you'll have to take your chances with having your throat cut by an anti-semetic anti- Australian nurse or two should you find yourself in a nasty postcode.
