Im whingin. hospital protocol

KEV EB XR8 · 02-10-2005, 09:26 AM

My poor wife as some may know , was rushed from oberon to liverpool hospital 8 weeks premi 4 weeks ago and spent a week in there being able to stop it . 2 weeks ago the same and another week in bathurst hospital . last tuesday same again but the doctor said baby is strong enough to come into the world .

i had to pick her up yesterday as they did'nt have enough humidity cribs after a week of being in hospital again . they put it off. my wife sindy is a strong person but this has reduced her spirit and strength

my gripe : hospitals / doctors still cannot function properly with the infastucture now . with all the people moving out what will it be like then.
sindy said that 5 ladies in the same position as her were sent home and could not be transfered to other hospitals (not cost effective)

all the medication has affected her and was advised breastfeeding was not an option . baby madison has had that many steroids to increase lung capacity for birth she will come out like arnie swartsnegger , and the pain in my wifes face , constant irregular contractions, brings me to tears and dirty on this whole system .

WHO GIVE THEM THE RIGHT TO PLAY GOD AT OUR EXPENCE

**Uncle_Ken** · 02-10-2005, 09:37 AM

Pollies (federal and state) hate health. Its a bottomless pit as far as votes and tax payers money is concerned to them. Its a hard time (been there 3 times with my wife). You fight hard for her and the baby and try not to let her feel your anger and stress with the 'system'.
Uncle_Ken

Casper · 02-10-2005, 09:52 AM

Kev, sorry to hear it but Ken is right, the public health system is just a money pit. My wife and I made the decision 10 years ago to go private and, even though its a good $2600 a year, we pay it and it has saved us a few times, including all 4 births of our kids. No stress, no hassles, all went well and if it didnt they were prepared.
Mrs Casper did her knee almost 2 years ago, it was agony for her. Fortunatly with Private it was in, out, done. With public.... she would ALMOST be at the top of the list for surgery now. Insane, just insane.

bindi · 02-10-2005, 09:54 AM

Mate, they are trying to do their best to keep the baby in the best possible environment - your wife's womb.

36 weeks is a pretty safe time now to have the baby, but I understand your frustration at the hospital system.

Politicians have ripped the funding from our hospitals to line their own pockets (I mean, the poor dears DO have to use our tax dollars to fund their retirement). And soon, we're gonna see a system like the US where if you don't have insurance, sorry we can't treat you.

For example - Katoomba Hospital. They have spent alot of money fixing it up... it's quite nice now. But they can't afford to spend money on the doctors and nurses to STAFF the hospital. Every time you go there (I only go on weekends, the rest of the time I go to the Dr), you are told - "take this pill, and go see your doctor on Monday".

My husband has a suspected broken ankle - he got up from a chair on Friday evening and suddenly something snapped - and I took him to the hospital. I have not seen him in that much pain for a very long time, he had tears in his eyes and almost passed out three times. They x-rayed him (saying it's not a visible break, probably a hairline), gave him some codeine and crutches and sent him home. On a long weekend. He has to stay off his leg until he can see a Dr on Tuesday. So he's in agony...

ANYWAY enough of my whinging!

Doctors are the "experts" in their field, but they do get things wrong. And sometimes they just don't know. And other times, they disagree with each other. And they expect to be treated as God, because in a way they are playing God... it is up to their skill and your life can be in their hands.

They try their best but sometimes it just doesn't work. I've seen doctors do awful things (they tried to get a piece of pencil out from under my son's fingernail without any anaesthetic until I screamed at them to stop) and things that I consider very wrong (as a health professional). The contempt they hold for US, their patients, can at times be very frustrating and demeaning.

Speak up mate. Tell them when you don't agree with something. Talk with your wife about how far you want to take this. This is YOUR baby, your WIFE'S body, don't let them think they are better than you. Sure they may know more, but discussing what you don't understand and standing up for your gut instinct is important. Don't disregard this.

Good luck, let us know how it goes!

PH47 · 02-10-2005, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bindi

For example - Katoomba Hospital. They have spent alot of money fixing it up... it's quite nice now. But they can't afford to spend money on the doctors and nurses to STAFF the hospital. Every time you go there (I only go on weekends, the rest of the time I go to the Dr), you are told - "take this pill, and go see your doctor on Monday".

Now you got me scared.. I moved up here to Leura a few months ago and I have a few medical conditions that sometimes require quick reaction from the local hospital (haven't had to go yet though luckily).. considering the local doctor here is one of those "take two panadol and call me in a week" types.. even when you go in with a chest infection or something totally un-panadol-worthy.. wonder what will happen if I need attention.

I'm used to it though. The whole reason i'm now sick for life is because western sydney hospitals stuffed up a basic appendectomy on me, resulting in me spending 8 days on life support, 2 weeks critical recovery time, and 8 months recovering back to a state where I can go a day without a nurse/breathing-assistance.

I love public hospitals.

02-10-2005, 05:13 PM

Wow thats tough Kev...n toasteron22s....ive spent most of my life O/S dad being a diplomat, only moved back home recently. And i am really surprised to hear these type of incidents...I live in canberra, and have a couple of operations at the hospitals here, and everything has been beyond reproach, i knew the system wasnt perfect...far from it, but on the face of it, it seemed so much better compared to what i experienced in the states...yikes!

Good luck to all of you.

gtfpv · 02-10-2005, 05:18 PM

i'm very sorry for all of your problems and think it is disgracefull . the moral of the story here is do not go to hospital or have surgury unless you think it is absolutely necessary . fullstop . don't get me wrong chest pain deserves an ambulance and quickly . but when i had my hernia i put up with it untill it started to affect my life. then i had the op .
now regarding your wife i agree with BINDI . she knows best . listen to the doctors and then go with your gut feeling .but do not do anything harsh unless an emergency . do'nt worry about steroids . some babies take them everyday for years and then grow up perfectly normal.
to toasteron22s. remember it is not your fault what happened to you so you deserve everybit of compansation and care . keep your chin up and make sure you get everybit of it you deserve it and it is worth whinging fighting going on a currant affair or whatever it takes .

The MaDDeSTMaN · 02-10-2005, 11:08 PM

Yup, I think there is no doubt about it, the public health system is hopelessly broken. The other day, LuvinmyEB and I went to the first OB/GYN appointment at the local hospital. Now, I don't mean to sound racist, but when english is a second language and they are having trouble understanding what we are saying and reading the patient notes, it doesn't exactly inspire faith that the mother and unborn child are in good hands, particularly as some basic things had to be explained to him 3 or 4 times, and then he said the baby is 24 weeks, when it's only a third of that. Scary!

And I'll never forget the doctor that asked me, after looking at my file, "are you still an insulin dependant diabetic?", incredible! I felt like saying "No, of course not, my pancreas just decided one day it was going to start making insulin all on it's own again like it's supposed to", what sort of a stupid question is that to ask someone who is insulin dependant because their body no longer produces it on it's own like it should?!?

I could go on and provide more examples, but what's the point? Question is, what can we do about it?

PH47 · 02-10-2005, 11:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The MaDDeSTMaN

Now, I don't mean to sound racist, but when english is a second language and they are having trouble understanding what we are saying and reading the patient notes, it doesn't exactly inspire faith that the mother and unborn child are in good hands, particularly as some basic things had to be explained to him 3 or 4 times

That's the EXACT problem we have with the local doctor. Has major issue understanding what you're trying to explain to him, then he starts giving you advice/solutions that aren't even CLOSE to what you just told him.

02-10-2005, 11:31 PM

get more australians to study medicine, so u dont have to get ppl from O/S

Shonky · 03-10-2005, 02:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EL_Advanti

get more australians to study medicine, so u dont have to get ppl from O/S

And that my friend brings us back to the subject of "Profitability".

International students pay a HUGE amount in fees (which is what funds HECS) and thus they are encouraged to apply. I have seen some brilliant migrant Doctors, but if you can't speak the language, you shouldn't be practicing. Simple as that...