New year's eve, possibly the worst day in the world to fall out of a tree and fracture your spine, my brother never had good timing. When I got a phone call telling me that my brother was being airlifted by helicopter to Lismore Base Hospital, I was concerned. He lives just inside NSW, and most of his closest hospitals are actually in Queensland.
After my brother had languished in Lismore hospital with suspected spinal fractures with so far no neurological involvement, being kept nil by mouth while he waited for his CT scan over 24 hours, I thought to get involved. Unfortunately, it turns out whilst doctors without borders exists, ambulances without borders does not, and that Queensland/NSW border is impenetrable.
I had a private neurosurgeon happy to take him, a private hospital happy to take him, you would think the overrun public hospital would be happy to be rid of him, but I was stonewalled. No, there is no way to get a patient across the border, sorry. Was there, I enquired an alternative? Could there perhaps be a private hospital in NSW I could get him transferred to? No, the doctor couldn't think of a single private hospital that could possibly have an on call after hours doctor.
They couldn't help him and they couldn't transfer him. Great.
I would like to thank the following people:
The radiologists - who apparently couldn't come in on a public holiday that they were on call for because a suspected spinal fracture of unknown severity didn't have neurological symptoms and therefore was non urgent and could wait 4 days. No idea yet if he needs surgery or not. Thank you. Thank you very much.
The QLD and NSW ambulance services - according to the hospital whilst doctors without borders exists throughout the world, ambulance without borders doesn't exist in Australia and there is no way to get a patient across the border.
Lismore Hospital and it's doctors - who apparently are so desperate for patients that even though this tax paying citizen did what the government requests and got private insurance so he didn't overburdern our strained resources, felt there was no possible private alternative available anywhere and they needed to keep him there even though they had no way of actually doing anything for him thanks to the first people I thanked
So as my brother comes up to 48 hours past the accident that had him helicoptered out of his home, leaving his wife with the 6 children including 6 week old twins and a farm full of animals to look after. I ask why do we all pay private insurance? because when it matters, when it really matters, when you want to get imaging and treatment quickly, you may as well be in prison, stuck by state borders and other ridiculous impediments.
