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The Forum > General Discussion > Our unsustainable health system

Our unsustainable health system

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Suseonline,

That was a shallow, senseless reply.

You say you are a registered nurse providing community services. Yet you are unaware that misuse of analgesics is a serious problem in Australia, ranking as the third most common form of illicit drug use, behind marijuana/cannabis and ecstasy use, and ahead of cocaine and heroin.
[Public Health Association Australia, policy 2010]

Just quoting from Victoria, non-opioid analgesics (such as paracetamol) are the third most common drug involved in ambulance attendances, following alcohol and benziodiazepines.

-The last mentioned drug, which is only available on prescription, contributed to 56 deaths in Victoria in 2010, representing almost 17% of the total number of drug-related deaths investigated by the Coroners Court of Victoria in that year.
[Australian Drug Foundation]

Of course government should be concerned if women and girls are being targeted for higher drug sales, both prescription and over the counter.
Posted by onthebeach, Saturday, 21 March 2015 11:00:17 PM
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Paracetamol is not an illicit drug.
As I said above OTB, using analgesics as directed is very safe.
Like anything else, if you over-use them, then they are dangerous.
Any fool knows that though.

Certainly over-use of alcohol and illicit/prescription drugs do represent a huge expense to the public health system, especially with adult males, with resulting car accidents and violence in the community.
Posted by Suseonline, Sunday, 22 March 2015 11:40:51 AM
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Suseonline, "Paracetamol is not an illicit drug"

Are you trying to be obstructive or what? As I advised I took that from the Public Health Association Australia's policy 2010 update and from the Australian Drug Foundation. Illicit refers to the (mis)use of the drug, which is common and has serious health effects.

Your 'any fool knows that' is a frivolous, ill-considered and ill-advised remark. What the hell is going on with that crew you work for that they are not up to speed on any of this?
Posted by onthebeach, Sunday, 22 March 2015 12:01:40 PM
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..Here in WA we already have nurse practitioners seeing patients, and not GPs.
It certainly saves money for the health system.

yes Suze and it doesn't help having to service the needs of remote communities, some with as few as six members, all from the public purse.

As for your return serve on self inflicted illness, its an argument for the sake of having an argument and of cause a change like this would require expert input to set parameters.

BTW, self inflicted illness can not be categorised with 'risk taking' which is what you are suggesting.

Of cause non of us are obliged to heed the warning signs and we are all entitled to bury our heads in the sand, its just that some of us prefer not to.
Posted by rehctub, Monday, 23 March 2015 6:15:53 AM
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1)So the co payment is gone, so where to now because the problem of our unaffordable,
< unsustainable health system has not.

2)I feel the time has come whereby all treatment for self inflicted illnesses are no longer
< funded by the tax layers generosity

Posted by rehctub, Thursday, 19 March 2015 5:46:46 AM

In the 1990's the Federal Labor, of Hawke and Keating reduced the numbers of university places for medicine, a paper suggested the we would have too many doctors and that would cost too much.

Instead what happened was not an excess in doctors but a shortage.

Anyone who is saying the our health care system is unsustainable is engaging in a scare mongering tactic.

Secondly, in America such tactic as a pre existing condition has been used to deny people treatment, one case, was a woman who once had thrush and developed cervical cancer, who was denied treatment by her health care fund.

On ABC radio there was a comparison made between the UK system and the American for profit sector and how a person with mesothelioma was treated. In America the patient received around a million dollars in treatment that added about another 6 weeks to their life span.

In the UK the program said that the person would not receive such invasive high cost useless treatment.
Posted by Wolly B, Monday, 23 March 2015 8:27:49 PM
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So what you're saying Wally is that there's no real problem treating someone say in their late 80's who is either grossly obese or a chain smoker with lung cancer or even an alcoholic absolutely free of charge while on the other hand charge a healthy person $60 for a health check simply because they work and earn what's considered an average wage, even though that average wage is not excessive as is $66K a year.

We already live in a society where those who contribute the most to our healthcare system receive the least, while at the same time we have many who live on fast food, smoke 50 cigs a day and drink heavily, (often home brew as it's cheaper)who receive free treatment frequently and cry fowl when they are asked to forgo just $7 to see the doctor for a self inflicted problem.

Boy do we need someone in charge with a big stick approach so those who carry the load can at least do so knowing their contributions and efforts are not in vein.

I have private health insurance for my family which costs us a fortune,$800/month. So why should a chain smoker/alcoholic or obese junk food addict receive free health when we are the ones being pro active?

My family are not the ones placing strain on the system, we are the ones helping to prop it up so the least those who don't care can do is pay about one tenth of what I pay.

What ever happened to user pays?
Posted by rehctub, Tuesday, 24 March 2015 4:31:36 AM
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