Doctors Reform Society of Australia
			supporting health care reforms to ensure justice, equity and quality care for all
| What's New | About Us | Articles | Letters | Journal | Search | Media Releases | Policies | Links | Discussion Board |

Recently I saw a young man with an inguinal hernia. The hernia was diagnosed by a workplace doctor who had done a physical examination on the patient prior to him starting has first job at a local abattoir. It was my job to arrange for a repair of the hernia at the local public hospital. The patient could not start work until this problem had been sorted out. I subsequently learned that, as a non-urgent case, the patient would have to wait nine months to be placed on a General Surgical operating list. Assuming a six week convalescence, this young man would have to wait over ten months before being able to start work.

Two points come out of this: first, the public hospital can make or break this man’s chances of getting a job and second, the local public hospital is having difficulty performing minor procedures....

The full text of this article is not currently available online. Contact Carol at the DRS national office for more information.

About the author:

Theo van Lieshout is a Brisbane based primary health care doctor.

.		.	The Doctors Reform Society of Australia, Box 14, 4 Goulburn Street, Sydney 2000. Phone 02 9264-9084 Fax 02 9267-4393.	.
			This page was last updated on 10th February, 2003.
Journals Menu | Articles Menu | Conferences | What's New | Home Page | Top of Page