WHY I‘ LL PAY $ 19,000 RATHER THAN WAIT

Public wait too long for mum

HOBART mum Alison Johnson decided she would prefer to pay $ 19,000 to get her kidney removed rather than wait for an indefinite period on the public elective surgery list.

The mother- of- two is one of 11,000 Tasmanians waiting for operations.

A HOBART mother- of- two has decided it is better to pay a whopping medical bill of $ 19,000 and get the surgery she needs rather than continue to languish on the public elective surgery waiting list.

Alison Johnson, 36, who needs a kidney removed, is one of more than 11,000 Tasmanians waiting for operations.

Ms Johnson found out in January 2019 she had a blocked kidney and it needed surgery.

“I had no previous health problems but when I was pregnant with my second child it was identified that my kidney could not be saved,” she said.

A stent was put in to drain the kidney and that needs to be removed soon.

After being referred for surgery she joined Tasmania’s public system elective surgery list as a Category 3 patient in April.

Health Minister Sarah Courtney said that in March 2014 the average non- urgent ( category 3) patient had been waiting 531 days while the longest- waiting patients had waited 10 years for surgery.

“This has now improved to an average of 179 days as at June this year, but we acknowledge more still needs to be done,” Ms Courtney said.

Ms Johnson says she is fortunate to be in a position where she can scrape together the money to go private.

“I understand I am one person in a big and struggling system but what about those perpetually waiting? We have put ourselves in a vulnerable financial position but I have to look after my health to be able to look after our children,” Ms Johnson said

“I have had great experiences in the public system when having babies but not so with elective surgery. I have been making numerous inquiries by phone and email and getting no answers on when the surgery might go ahead.”

The Tasmanian government announced last week the health system would be given a $ 45m injection to improve elective surgery waiting times.

As part of Thursday’s state budget, the funding will allow for about 8500 elective surgeries – over and above the ordinary volume of surgeries – to be carried out across the next 18 months.

“I know the system is under a lot of stress and the focus is on getting the urgent elective surgeries through,” Ms Johnson said. “But it was the lack of communication which tipped me over to go private instead.”