When you think of emergencies, do you picture heart surgeries, crucial transplant operations, and procedures that get people walking again?
Think again.
When it comes to hospital care, an emergency has a specific definition.
Let’s say that you have a heart attack. You’ll be taken to the nearest public hospital and treated as soon as possible – because your life is in immediate danger. Once your condition is stable, the emergency is over.
However, what if you require follow up treatment, like bypass surgery? This is when things get tricky. If it’s possible to delay non-emergency treatment by at least 24 hours, it’s considered ‘elective’.
Elective, not an emergency.
For coronary artery bypass graft surgery (not uncommon, following a heart attack), you would enter a public waiting list, where the average waiting time for treatment was between 13 – 18 days for public hospitals in 2015/16. In fact, the Private Hospitals Association states that waiting times for this procedure are twice as long for the uninsured, “… which could be the difference between life and death.”
Do you really want to wait more than two weeks to fix the ‘ticker’?
When you require critical care, but it’s not an emergency, here’s the reality:
‘Urgent’ surgery is classified as anything that has the potential to deteriorate quickly, to the point where it may become an emergency. The average wait time for urgent surgery through the public hospital system was 10 days in 2015/16.
It’s not a great news story for less urgent procedures, either. Something like hip surgery isn’t an emergency, sure. However, patients waited an average of four months – potentially in pain or discomfort – before they were seen through the public system.
Here’s one final example: ear, nose and throat surgery had the highest proportion of patients who waited longer than a yearfor treatment. You wouldn’t wait a whole year for a plumber to fix your kitchen sink, so why should your body be any different?
Rather than being put on a public hospital waiting list, one of the great benefits of private hospital insurance is that you get to choose your doctor and have access to a private hospital – even your own room, if one is available. This gives you greater flexibility in scheduling your surgery, while also reducing your waiting times, provided you have served your waiting periods.
We can help you find great cover. How? Because our experts put themselves in your shoes. By spending a bit of time learning who you are and what you need, we’ll ensure you find the right cover at the right price.
