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MyHospitals, MyChoice?

Tory Shepherd

by Tory Shepherd

14 Dec 05:40am

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Filed under: Emergency, Health, Hospitals, Myhospitals

26 comments

Governments treat their employers (us) with such contempt.

Bugs in the system. Pic: David Sproule

They genuinely think we can’t handle the truth, that they need to control the information flow so our little heads don’t explode, or our little worlds implode.

No - not the Wikileaks saga. The MyHospitals debacle.

The Federal Government site is but a shell, a skeletal frame of information that will neither help consumers make decisions nor spark underperformers into action - let alone highlight where they’re underfunding.

What people want to know when going to hospital (assuming they’re in a fit state to wonder) is how long it will take to be seen, how good the care is, and what the risks are.

The current website tells them none of that. Sure, it’s good to be able to compare elective and emergency waiting times to a national average; that is, it’s good for us media types to see who’s falling behind.

But it’s not much use to the average punter who just wants to know where to get their hip done - especially when the data is up to 18 months old.

For emergencies, you’re either not going to have a choice about where to go because you’re in the back of an ambulance, or you need to know what the waiting time is now. Not last financial year.

What we should have got was real-time data. What we also deserved to get was the rate of hospital-acquired infections, the number of preventable deaths, and the sentinel events data.

That’s health department speak for how good the hygiene is, and how often they cock up.

On the grimy surface of it, you can see how the raw statistics on hospitals are a tricky subject.

Imagine if people actually knew what danger they were in every time they were admitted.

Hospital-acquired infections are costly, common, and potentially deadly. Many of them are now resistant to antibiotics.

Golden staph is a pretty name for a nasty bug that can blow a testicle up to the size of a watermelon and turn the simplest procedure into a dire emergency.

Then there’s vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), another superbug that is now endemic in our hospitals. Doctors describe it as being like honey. Sticky. Impossible to remove, oozing from hand to beside table to light switch to open wound, imperceptibly.

Then there’s this new superbug, NDM-1. Is it in your local hospital? Wouldn’t you like to know?

It would also be helpful to know the rates of preventable deaths and other sentinel events, which can range from inpatient suicide to the odd sponge left inside someone’s abdomen.

The most cogent argument against revealing this sort of data is that it’s often not the specific hospital’s fault that their stats are bad.

Large metropolitan teaching hospitals end up with the most complex cases. They also deal with the sharpest ebbs and flows in emergency presentations.

It may seem unfair to punish them for doing worse than their less pressured counterparts.

But those variables can be explained. And we are grown up enough to understand that different places face different challenges.

What we are also mature enough to grasp is that where a hospital has dropped below its peers on, say, infections or deaths, there’s probably a good reason.

Overcrowding, a lack of resources, understaffing, for example.

The sorts of things that governments don’t really want you to know about. 

Health Minister Nicola Roxon says some of the statistics on mistakes may eventually be added whether she has to battle the states to get them in is yet to be seen.

And who knows in this case, telling the truth could have an immediate and beneficial side effect. It could scare off all those people who don’t really need to go to hospital in the first place, leaving enough beds for the seriously sick.

Most commented

26 comments

Show oldest | newest first

    • MarK says:

      06:24am | 14/12/10

      But but but they are doing “something”. Like Grocery Watch. Like Fuel Watch. They are moving forward. Gosh Tory can’t you see that?

      It is all about open and transparent access to information that isn’t normally available. It is about “empowering” people via the web and ensuring they are up to date on the hitherto unknown facts and behind the scenes numbers.

      I mean open access to information is paramount to this government, as it is to all governments. Gillards unflinching support for Julian A just goes to show the real commitment this government has for the dissemination of information…...............oh wait.

      Reply

    • Sherlock says:

      08:31am | 14/12/10

      You forgot about “myschool” as well.

      As I asked in the thread above, is there anything this government hasn’t managed to stuff up

    • Rosie says:

      08:44am | 14/12/10

      Yes it is proof they have made a decision and have actually delivered.

      Gillard said 2011 is going to be a year of decisions & delivery! The Govt hasn’t even the patience to wait until the new year to show us how good they are at governing. Already we have Swan’s bank reforms, Macklin’s paid parental leave and now Roxon’s my hospital website!

      They seem to think that quantity is better than quality for their survial!

    • Jolanda says:

      07:11am | 14/12/10

      Controlling information has become our Governments role so as to present the picture that they want to present and so as to protect their position of power and the criminals and idiots within their party.

      These websites are a waste of money and time as they are missing the most crucial information and that includes how many complaints were made against the hospital/doctors/nurses and how these complaints were handled and dealt with. At least that information will give us an indication of how we will be treated and how safe we are likely to be as opposed to how long it will take!

      I have experienced manipulation and tampering of state records in the hospital system and in the Education system and the response of the Government is to turn a blind eye and discredit you if you complain.  We need to hold our Government and its workers to account.  People need to support those who speak out.

      There are people in positions of power who are abusing their power and the process that our Government uses to deal with it is to manipulate the records and cover up.

      Education – Keeping them Honest
      http://jolandachallita.typepad.com/

      Reply

    • Joel B1 says:

      07:29am | 14/12/10

      It’s getting real boring having to continually point out the absurdities of this Rudd/Gillard government bizarrely ineffectual performance.

      Much like MySchool, people, especially those of lower economic status, simply don’t get to choose where they can send their kids or go for hospital treatment.

      When faced with this surely unassailable reality the ALP suggests that “You can use this information to talk to your school principal about improvements”. I presume that the same, insane idea will be trotted out to suggest that MyHospital is of any bloody use at all to the ordinary person.

      Frankly I’ve had enough. This Gillard government is rubbish. They simply have no idea.

      Reply

    • TChong says:

      08:11am | 14/12/10

      A few possible issues arise.
      Real time data - might be possible for waiting lists for booked ( pre planned ) procedures, ,but in an emergency, a waste of time .
      If you are so crook, and facing a life threatening event - cardiac arrest, cva, mva, etc , then you will be seen straight away, with the triage commencing with the arrival of the ambulance service.- so dont worry about trying to find a quiet cas, in an emergency- the ambos will do that.
      One single multi victim motor vehicle accident can delay waiting times in Casualty, so , again, , Cas. waiting lists would be of little value.
      Deaths in hospitals etc - sounds reasonable, but folks , unless the patient was Not For Resus (NFR) , elderly, or with terminal disease, then a hospital death is subject to a coroners case,by law in NSW and, again, the findings might be that although a death occured, it may have be inevitable, etc sometimes resulting in court cases with appeals - so again , the causes of death may take a long time to verify.
      Not much use if you want answers immediatley.
      Rather lurid side effects of golden staph, there Tors.
      Most commonly affects respiratoy , and large wounds etc, but please tell of the case study of how the Golden staph turned “the simplest procedure into a dire emergency”- sounds a bit apocrophal, or something so poorly planned, that maybe the practioners were out of their depth to begin with, or someone just spinning some BS.

      Reply

    • Ex ALP voter says:

      09:01am | 14/12/10

      Another ALP failure. Anyone surprised? How about a MyPolitician website? I know everyone from Rudd to Gillard to Roxon to Garrett could do with some ranking on their non-performance. The MyHospital website is a nice distraction from the fact that Roxon has done nothing significant in health other than bow to the Nursing Unions pressure to allow nurses to prescribe and be on par with doctors without a fraction of the training. Roxon’s care factor on health quality is zero at best.

      Reply

    • Grumpy says:

      11:19am | 14/12/10

      haha Mypolitician.com.au…. thats gold!

    • Jim says:

      12:08pm | 14/12/10

      I personally think Roxon is a very able minister…it’s just a shame that she (and throw Stephen Smith in as well) is in the ALP and has her hands tied by the ALP/Union/Green Machine.

      I like the MyPolitician website idea…

    • mjr says:

      03:30pm | 14/12/10

      Jim, you give Roxon more credit than she’s due.  She may well be a bloody star, but ultimately she chose feel-good ALP ideologies over getting things done properly.

    • TChong says:

      10:43am | 14/12/10

      Yeah ExALP, gotta hand it to the Nurses Federation.
      They sure must have been tough negotiators in order to get one over the AMA.
      The docs historically have managed to run a very closed shop, and relied on public goodwill ( not always deserved) in order to be the final arbiter in all things “health “, and some of this control is no longer justified.
      No GP will go hungry because of Nurse Practioners.

      Reply

    • Ex ALP voter says:

      01:20pm | 14/12/10

      But a few dead people or two might notice the difference between having an NP vs, a GP. Roxon is a slave to the unions, just as Gillard is a slave to the unions + the indepenedents + greens.

      I’m not a doctor but I;ve been around long enough in the health care system to know a ALP bad idea when I see one.

      We need a new government now, Gillard and her merry bunch just can’t cut the mustard.

    • JessicaK says:

      02:35pm | 14/12/10

      I’m an RN who has worked w/ NPs and doctors and I would never consider seeing an NP or recommend them to my family or friends. They work with very limited knowledge and training in a very broad field. This is not a well thought out or implemented plan by the Minister and this is coming from a nurse.

    • nosthow says:

      12:03pm | 14/12/10

      When Howard was in Tory he had little Tony Abbott as his Health Minister and that set Public Health back 40 plus years. At least though Tony was healthy - he looks good in his Lycra doesnt he boys and girls ? Anyway to cut a long story short today Labor is trying to improve Health in Australia - of course what does Tonys mob do - yes you guessed it viewers - BLOCK ! When you only have two tools in your bag, they being BLOCK and WRECK one is given to wonder why the Opposition actually need a leader at all - Daffy Duck could do Tones’s job ! hahahhhhhhhhhhhhh

      Reply

    • MarK says:

      02:37pm | 14/12/10

      Please explain how the blame game stopping policies of Labor have been implemented.

      Tell us how the hospital “takeover” is going.

      Use examples and big words in sentences.

    • Joel B1 says:

      05:20pm | 14/12/10

      nosthow seems to be a tad confused of late. Note the excessive, and dare I say, slightly mad use of capitalisation.

      However, he/she/it is pumping out the current ALP propaganda: Abbott is a WRECKER.

      But a moments thought will tell you that when you’re dealing with the train-wreck that is the Gillard government, Abbotts not a wrecker but in fact a recovery expert, helping rescue the Australian population from this utter disaster of a government.

    • NicoleG says:

      06:36pm | 14/12/10

      @Joel B1, I did offer him some advice today. I suggested he start sleeping on his back instead of his sides. That way the gray matter, well what’s left, won’t seep out so fast. How nice am I?

    • nosthow says:

      06:45pm | 14/12/10

      @JoelB1 - “Abbott is a WRECKER” says JoelB1 - well well well - thank you Joeley old buddy ! And nosthow is all man fella !

    • Kaz says:

      11:06pm | 14/12/10

      The ONLY thing Labor is trying to improve is their chances of being voted in at the next election.  MyHospitals is just meaningless data and statistics; how much public money was wasted on this?  Can the author explain how giving people data about infection control, adverse outcomes and sentinel events in hospitals will help people make informed choices about their healthcare?  The government would be best to spend money on getting more general practitioners out there for quality, accessible primary health care - then we’d see less people in the ED and in hospitals generally.

    • R says:

      12:18pm | 14/12/10

      You seem to know all the answers Tchong. So i have a few questions.
      1.  Will Nurse Practioners have to pay the same amount of inssurance as GP?
      2.  Due to the fact that some dieases that a fatal look alot like normal everday problems and a Nurse misdiagnosed.  Who fault will it be? The Nurse Practioners because she or he made the wrong diagnosis.  The Doctor because he or she is the nurse boss.  The Govenment for pushing the use of Nurse Practioner. 
      3.  When medical students ring up their old mentor from when the did their training.  They tell them ” I loved being a GP with you but i just can’t afford it,  I am going to be a specialist”  Is it right to assume that being a Doctor is more expensive then you thing it would be?
      4.  Do Nurse Practioners have to do the same amount of paperwork as a normal Doctor.

      I think that there is far to much bureaucracy in their health department at the moment.  I think we need to get back to a point where the bureaucracy helps the doctor and nurse perform their duty and makes life easier for the doctor and nurse.

      Reply

    • Leah says:

      02:37pm | 14/12/10

      Can’t believe they even thought MyHospitals was a good idea. I heard an article about how on the back of the “success” of MySchool, Gillard thought MyHospitals would be a good idea.

      Whoever declared MySchool a success?! I don’t know ANYBODY who thought it was a good idea or turned out well.

      I do, however, think the MyPolitician website might be an idea raspberry

      Reply

    • Ben C says:

      04:17pm | 14/12/10

      Chongy, I must pull you up on your golden staph statement. It sounds like you have interpreted Tory’s statement as being that contracting golden staph during surgery will immediately be noticed. I’ve read it more that golden staph can be contracted during a simple procedure, you won’t know the effects immediately, but when you do notice the effects, it turns what was a simple procedure and covalescence into a dire emergency.

      Further, your comment about Nurse Practitioners - who would you rather consult in times of ill-health, a doctor that is trained to and can diagnose within 99% probability what the affliction is, or a Nurse Practitioner that has minimal medical training?

      nosthow - can’t disregard you now, can I? If Labor are concerned about improving health, why do they bother with this MyHospitals website? Could they not put that money towards IMPROVING hospitals, instead of analysing them? How about they deliver on their promise to take action on hospitals, to rectify the “neglect” shown by Tony Abbott when he was Minister for Health? If they were genuine about improving health, they should be acting instead of just talking. They would come up with decent policies, instead of ones that are rejected even by state Labor governments.

      Reply

    • Wayne says:

      05:07pm | 14/12/10

      School watch, Bank watch, hospital watch, grocery watch see a pattern here. It does not mean anything comes of it!!

      Reply

    • Ex ALP voter says:

      07:04pm | 14/12/10

      Ah, welcome to the crazy, wasteland of ALP politics.

    • NESLIHAN KUROSAWA says:

      09:37pm | 14/12/10

      Hi Tory,

      Hospital of our choice?? I definitely think not!!!  We have put down public hospitals down so much in the past.  It seems like we have not learnt anything from our past experiences.  I would love to be able to go a hospital, not for the “five star comfort”, but for the knowledge and experience.  After all teaching hospitals are responsible are for training “doctors to be” and “nurses to be”.  I believe that they should all feel very lucky to be part such a profession.  I know that I would feel very proud to be in the business of healing people.  It does not matter so much, how much it actually costs.

      It is wonderful for people who can afford it to have the choice to visit a “private hospital for that special care they are looking for”.  I feel, sadly even though Australia does not have the population of the USA and some of the European Nations, we have had major problems within our hospital system that it is not even “funny” anymore.  For me personally, it all boils down to the management of our hospitals.  Also, we all have to realize that “having the basic health care, for when people need it is not “luxury but a necessity”. 

      If only, our Politicians and Leaders would understand this fact.  After all we happen to be of one of richest nations and “the luck country” we love to talk about so much.  And I promise it is not going to get any easier when you consider the fact that we are “an aging nation” .Best regards to your editors.

      Reply

    • NESLIHAN KUROSAWA says:

      09:37pm | 14/12/10

      Hi Tory,

      Hospital of our choice?? I definitely think not!!!  We have put down public hospitals down so much in the past.  It seems like we have not learnt anything from our past experiences.  I would love to be able to go a hospital, not for the “five star comfort”, but for the knowledge and experience.  After all teaching hospitals are responsible are for training “doctors to be” and “nurses to be”.  I believe that they should all feel very lucky to be part such a profession.  I know that I would feel very proud to be in the business of healing people.  It does not matter so much, how much it actually costs.

      It is wonderful for people who can afford it to have the choice to visit a “private hospital for that special care they are looking for”.  I feel, sadly even though Australia does not have the population of the USA and some of the European Nations, we have had major problems within our hospital system that it is not even “funny” anymore.  For me personally, it all boils down to the management of our hospitals.  Also, we all have to realize that “having the basic health care, for when people need it is not “luxury but a necessity”. 

      If only, our Politicians and Leaders would understand this fact.  After all we happen to be of one of richest nations and “the luck country” we love to talk about so much.  And I promise it is not going to get any easier when you consider the fact that we are “an aging nation” .Best regards to your editors.

      Reply
 
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