I would prefer a private pay in system rather than an underperforming discriminatory public system. yes, there, I said it. At least I would know what exactly I was getting rather than dealing with a public health system run by people so far removed that you have no idea what decisions are being made about your taxes.
I have 4 main points to make in regards to this, referring to how the NZ medical system seems to run. I have found this out from the inside, as a patient. Its horrific.
- Physio – apparently I only need a bit of physio after the leg. Rubbish. It is my choice to fund physio that saved the DHB paying to provide me with 2 weeks of intensive physio. What thanks do I get for that? None.
- Apparently according to how they prioritise their lists, I don’t need a decent wheelchair – I am not an urgent case, in fact it was quoted as very unimportant – at the bottom of the list in fact. If I buy one – it would cost me around $10 – $15k.
- To get an OT – to measure for wheelchair, to assess home for modifications, etc etc. Again, according to the hospital I am unimportant and non urgent and am at the bottom of the list. If I want to get it sorted out, Price STARTS at $800 per assessment. No one seems to care that I am trying to speed up my return to work.
- Limb centre funding – this is also centralised. I will only be funded for one limb. So, If I want to walk around the block, I will be fine. If I want to do anything else, like cycle, run, sport of any sort, I have to buy my own. Each limb STARTS at around $10k upwards. Plus ongoing maintenance costs.
S, lets recap: to get back to the life (and work) that I was doing BEFORE – I am not wanting to do anything different or new… my initial costs would START at $50k-$60k to get it done myself.
Well its my fault I don’t have private health insurance...?
No, I am from the UK. I moved to NZ 8 years ago and am now a NZ / UK dual citizen. In the UK I did not need private health insurance. We had a reasonably well performing NHS. So, at my age now, any new insurance excluded so many things from cover it was simply not worth it.
So, even though my new country have adopted me as a citizen giving me equal rights, in effect the medical system have chopped my leg off then dumped me out on the street with the trash.
I WANT to work full time. I WANT to return to a healthy lifestyle. Is this such a crime? Instead they prefer to pay for you to stay on the benefit or go back in for repeated health related surgeries.
Surely it doesn’t seem right that restricting someone from being active and sustaining a healthy lifestyle is secondary to funding – considering that being active will prevent future hospital burden over time related to possible health problems that might develop through inactivity.
Why should I have to fight…
With the medical system who are reluctant to admit that any of this was their fault, that an otherwise fit and healthy personal trainer can just lose a leg, then bugger off, get lost, its not our problem any more?
Why should I have to fight…
With the commission / ombudsman to make sure someone’s head rolls and that this horrific blunder doesn’t keep getting repeated?
Why should I have to rely on my own medical knowledge to pick up their mistakes and chase all the supports that SHOULD be happening post surgery but aren’t?
Think about this…
When you next complain about the price of a prescription – the price of dental treatment, or even the price of that parking ticket, Spare a thought for me and consider this: what if you were asked to pay $15k every two years, just for the prevelidge of keeping both your legs? Sounds ridiculous right? Well, that is what I am now expected to do.
