Sammy T

I have to agree with you, the services here in Tas are very slow and disjointed, and therefore some people feel they have no choice but to go private. The only public hospital in the South of the state needs redeveloping and expanding but as usual Tas doesn't get the funding (which might be down to the crap state pollies as well)

I can't find a bulk bill GP so have to pay and it seems to be different every time!

I think as already said on this thread, the Medicare system works well in some places and dreadfully in others, depending on the population, the choice and availabilty of hospitals and the competency of those holding the purse.

fish.01

I'm not overlooking that. We have all heard of the concept of waiting times and hospitals. If that was my experience I would have taken it into account but it isn't. We had a British nurse posting recently, working in outpatients, who said most people are seen in 2 weeks. My sister has used them for years for a variety of ailments and I checked with her a few weeks ago and she said it has been great, including the waiting time (Brisbane). So there are good and bad stories. Same as all health systems. It is the stats that count - to inject some objectivity.

I was actually responding to your original comment "That sounds amazing value, Consultants/Specialist charging less than a GP terrific value, thats less than the medicare rebate which is only $67 for a first visit with specialist." which expressed suprise that the service was free - when he was probably talking about a public specialist and you were talking about a private specialist.

fish.01

Yeah Tasmania seems to miss out. The Australia wide average for GP visits that are bulk billed is 80% but Tasmania and the ACT are down near 50%.

Vash the Stampede

The private system isn't always faster.

I had to sit on the waiting list of a private gastroenterologist (Dr Digby Cullen, St John of God Hospital) for two months before I could get an appointment.

Service was excellent when I finally received it (albeit expensive) but I did wonder why I'd been forced to wait so long. It was just a referral for a diagnosis; nothing complicated!

hevs

Again, not true here in Melbourne.

I have had a 10 week wait for a gyne appointment, then a further 4 weeks wait for a little op.

Flynn has chronic tonsils and this was possibly the longest wait that I have had, (for something I considered "urgent") it was 12 weeks to see ENT. We are now on the semi urgent list for him to have his tonsils/ adenoids out. This will be within 90 days. Urgent is within 30 days and non urgent 12 months.

Jad, I was thinking about this today and hoping that people don't think that either of us are exaggerating or telling porkies. My experience differs from yours hugely and I feel its important for people to realise thats how it is here. It varies and to say "health care in Australia is crap" is just wrong and then all newbies think they can't survive here without private health and its a misrepresentation. That said however it seems that in some areas you do need to get PH. We perhaps need to be more specific and state "In the S/E of Melbourne I have found the health care system to be better that what we used to have in the UK"

Wol

I don't doubt for a minute your own experiences, but obviously we are all going to have different ones.

I suspect that a part of the differences lies in the fact that we live in a federal environment: you and I might almost be talking about different countries. I know next to nothing about the VIC facilities and probably the same applies to you vv NSW. And the press and TV are very state-oriented so you don't get much news from other areas unless it involves rugby sex scandals.

The NSW health system is a shambles. Hospitals are being forcibly closed, sometimes - as in the case of the Blue Mountains one - by getting mothers-to-be so worked up about their local unit that they arrange to go elsewhere, often hundreds of Km away. The state government then says there's no local demand and closes it down!

My local hospital has been told - by the state government again - to limit the joint replacements to two this year. And the ambulances have been told to take emergencies to Liverpool, not the local emergency room. Liverpool's an hour and a half away. My doctor told us to avoid it if at all possible since the staffing is so poor.

I came here just over four years ago as a reasonably healthy family, and circumstances have meant that the two of us have been admitted to hospital about seven times as inpatients, several more as day patients. I won't bore you with pages of slapdash, dirty hospitals but just one reminiscence: I was told off soundly by one nurse for even thinking about tinkering with the tubes I had in my under regions because that was a matter for professionals. In the morning the carpet around my bed was saturated with what should have gone into the bag but didn't since the professional had neglected to close the drain or check during the night.

For three days the carpet remained saturated despite constant requests to sterilise it - eventually a guy came and vacuumed it. God knows what soups of bugs infest the carpets there. Now, this is one of Sydney's foremost hospitals. The private side - apparently the public one is much worse.

A week after I checked out I was rushed into the local emergency room with a near-fatal blood infection.

I have had considerable experience - unfortunately - with Medicare since I arrived. I agree that you can get things like path tests done instantly, and they are usually bulkbilled.. But most other things like scans etc are charged, and only a small part of the cost is reimbursed. Sometimes the same test will be bulkbilled - it's the randomness which makes it so infuriating.

And consider the bulkbilling doctors: the standard 20min surgery visit attracts a Medicare rebate of around $33. If the doctor bulkbills that's what he gets - and he has to pay for his equipment, surgery, rates, receptionist, practice nurse, insurance etc. He would make a hell of a lot more as a plumber - think about it! My own GP charges $60 and I'm happy to pay that less $32 - I think he's worth it.

fish.01

By scans do you mean xrays and ultrasounds?

Wol

Both - and MRIs and CT scans. Been there, done it....

kar-kier

This all really worries me. We have very little money, but on a 457 we are not eligable for any help. What happens if you literally can't afford to go and see a doctor- $50 is a lot of money!

fish.01

To be more location specific as hevs suggested, here in Brisbane I have no trouble getting xrays and ultrasounds for free in modern private clinics. Have always had great service. Would have thought Sydney would be similar but if you are outside a big city I imagine it is not so easy.

I'm not sure what you mean by randomness - public is free, private sometimes costs and sometimes is free depending on which one you go to. Maybe it is different where you are.

fish.01

Does your private insurance cover GP's on a 457 visa - how does that work?

kar-kier

I actually have no idea!! I have the overseas cover which costs about $170 a month. I've been to scared to go to the doctors incase i get a big bill! Think i really need to look into it! I also got the extras cover, i thought if you had extras you didn't pay anything at all - obviously not!!

fish.01

Normal private health insurance for a permanent resident only covers two things:
- treatment in a hospital.
- extra's like physio, dental, optical. "Extra's" is optional.

Because 457 visa holders are not eligible for medicare I think they may have special private insurance that also covers things like GP's and specialists. If you ring your insurer and then your local GP's I'm sure they would help you work out if there is any cost.

Family of 3

Is is good or shambolic in the Joondalup area?

ozhappy981

It's excellent in the Joondalup area! Speaking from personal experience as this is where I live.

There are a lot of doctor surgeries, including at least one bulk-billing one (where I go). I am from the UK where I used to have to wait several days to get a doctor's appointment unless it was urgent. The first few times when I phoned to make an appointment here, I used to say it wasn't urgent. They'd be this "puzzled pause" and then the receptionist would say: Well, we have several appointments free today, when would you like to come.

We also have a fantastic hospital in Joondalup .

Going by the experiences of people on the forum, WA (certainly the Perth area) is one of the states where Medicare works. Part of the reason is perhaps that WA has more money compared to the other states and can therefore afford to spend more on health. One of the Perth hospital (I forgot which one), for example has a world-renowned specialist burns unit.