jad n rich

Serious thread so its not in the Barbie. PM a reply if you prefer.

Right, were in qld, pay medicare levy and private health insurance, our 11 year old needs category 2 surgery. The surgeon for this surgery is not working privately, we are prepared to pay, but its a specialty there is not a private option for.

The wait time has so far been 5 months. Rang yesterday, the wait time will be at least another year. WIthout too grapic a medical description, this surgery is pretty urgent, his growth and development will affect the work needed and his hearing will be affected.

Has anyone , with real experience or knowledge of wait times, either a parent with a child waiting for surgery or medical staff in other states got some time frames they can give us to compare, the idea of slipping state for a while with one child is not out of the question if there really is some evidence that hosptial waiting times would be shorter.

spalen

Have you tried finding all the surgeons in qld who do this , and then NSW, and then WA, and then etc... and ringing their practice to see when they can do it if you are prepared to pay for it?

You need to call the specific surgeon practice for the specialty you are talking about, I wouldn't have though there is much point knowing general waiting times for hospitals or operations because they'll all vary dramatically depending on the type of surgery required.

eg: http://www.doctors-4u.com/sydney/special2.htm

jad n rich

Pretty much its going to be a State Hospital job, and with childrens surgery there is usually only one kids hospital. So the question I have asked is far less 'general' than may appear, but I understand it may not appear that way.

Even when your on a waiting list they dont give out indications of waiting times, we have had a firm 'cant tell you' , we couldnt even get a positve answer to which year, and thats already being on the on the list!

Speaking to Staff off the record or other patients and their experience has quite often been more informative than the offical info you can get. The Queensland Surgeons being forced to take all public leave ( and hence the massive further blow out of wait times) info came from media coverage on broken election promises, followed up we found out far more than we ever would from being a mere patient on the list

quoll

Are you sure there are no private surgeons for this issue? I'd be checking out the Sydney and Melbourne children's hospitals very quickly.

Failing that, I would be writing to the relevant minister, going to your MP and generally kicking up a stink. Nothing the bureaucrats hate more than being pilloried by the minister who wont want his public image tarnished! If this is a "disability" thing - you mentioned hearing as being part of the issue, then check out the disability advocacy groups, you may find someone who will go in to bat for you there and they do have a bit more clout than joe blow in the street (they also take some of the stress off you!).

Elective surgery in Aus hospitals is a joke and it is really shocking that even if you are prepared to go private you cant find a surgeon who will do it!

Dorothy

I agree with the others that you should get your little one on the lists for other state children's hospitals. Category 2 means that it's not deemed urgent surgery, so the wait lists could be very long. Brisbane's children's hospital possibly has longer wait lists than WCH in Adelaide or PMH in Perth. If you're willing to travel for the procedure, then that might be an option. If you PM me with what procedure it is you're talking about I can help you out with the names of some surgeons here in Perth. I could possibly check out the wait times here as well.

ozzieeagle

If you do have Private cover, then I would be seriously considering combining the surgery with a trip to Sydney or Melbourne. Never had a problem with elective surgery, always been seen very quickly, it seems much better value than orthodontic work, IE: doesnt hurt the wallet as much. I guess your only problem could be post op, as they do like to get people out of hospital asap, and you may not want to travel at that stage.

Good luck with that.

rosscov1970

Can only offer you my husband's experience here in Adelaide. He had a tumour develop on his finger which grew quite rapidly. We have no private cover but were referred to the Adelaide women's and children's hospital for assessment. The conclusion was that it was probably not malignant and classed as a category 2 surgery. He had the surgery 5 1/2 weeks later. Excellent treatment and aftercare and the tumour thankfully proved to be benign.
Hope you manage to achieve a quick and successful result for your child.

temptininnit

It seems the only way to get things moving here in extreme circumstances is to involve the press. A current affairs TV show or a newspaper.

Good luck.

IvanM

The state of paediatric gastroenterology in QLD is so bad that parents regularly fly down to Sydney or Melbourne to see specialists that are just unavailable or not good enough up there. Private health may pay a couple of dollars for your travel.

As others have said best bet is to find a recommendation for someone at Sydney Childrens Hospital, Westmead or one of the specialist paediatric units in Melbourne. Good luck with your battle.

ossigeno

If you keep cominp up against delays and excuses, make a call to the local radio station, get the tabloids involved. Nothing focusses the mind more than bad publicity.

jad n rich

Thanks for replies so far, its a nightmare but Adelaide of all places keeps coming up as a alternative, this might be correct, a smaller population perhaps, but its not a state I know that well. Melb would have been ideal, but we actually know people in the qld system who came up here hoping things would be better And now my mother is making huffy comments about giving up the UK care we got which they told us at the time was a risk, now I am irresponsible :curse:

Loads of phone calls to make again next week.

Dorothy

Adelaide's WCH is a fantastic hospital. I used to work in the ped. neurology dept. I also did a very short temp assignment for the head of gastro, who was a very nice man.

Get in touch with the Ronald McDonald house. They're really wonderful. My neice stayed at the RMH in Toronto when her son had his hemispherectomy and she said it was a really helpful to be so close to the hospital and not have to worry about where she was going to stay. Take a look here for the information on them. It will be really helpful if you know that your child is being looked after at a top notch hospital and you have a place to stay where they understand what you're going through having a sick child.

Best of luck with your little one's surgery.

IvanM

In my experience of dealing with the health system finding a doctor who specialises in the field of your son's condition is important. The biggest advantage of private healthcare is doctor of choice. We know a paediatrician at Sydney Childrens Hospital who has looked after our son since birth. We use her for recommendations in paediatric specialisations.

If Adelaide specialises in your son's condition then go for it. Otherwise find out where in Australia does specialise in the condition and surgery.

jad n rich

Update - a complicated week with a result.

We documented our situation to the hospital with updated photos/evidence of how complicated our sons condition had become. Due to bleeding related to the condition we got a cancellation appointment to see the specialist/surgeon. By negotiating to have 2 surgical procedures done at our own cost ( some will be covered by private ) the part that can only be done by the one specialist is being done early june. Thats because its now category one and over the next few weeks all qld surgeons have to take all owing leave, if we didnt get in next month no matter what he wouldnt have been seen. Of course us getting fitted in means somebody else less urgent but also category one is not being seen. Dont feel good about that of course.

It still leaves us with 3 operations now not everything done in one go, and it still leaves us with massive bills which may or may not be partly covered by our private health, no commitment from them, just advice on negotiating the gap fees. Given some of this is dental related I am expecting the total to be about the price of a new car 3 lots of surgery is a bigger concern, each surgery carries a risk of course and one opertation would have been better for such a young child. But given the pigs ear of a medical system this is actually a result.

moneypenny20

Well done on arguing the case so well. It sounds like a nightmare for both you and your lad. Hope the first op goes well and the secondary ones happen soon.