As we’ve mentioned before, one of our readers was referred by his GP, who’d been using for 5 or 6 years and seemed to to him to be quite good, to a specialist who was the worst doctor he’d ever come across who not only was of no help, but did him serious harm, at great expense. (And we’ve also heard of two other similar stories.)
To us, there can only be one of three possible explanations – (1) the GP was getting a kick back, OR, (2) the GP and the specialist were mates, OR, (3) the GP just didn’t know. In other words, he did know or he didn’t know the specialist was no good – and we’re not sure which one is worse!
One of the questions that’s raised is how GPs are expected to know. By just working on incidental bits and pieces they pick up? Does anyone help them with this?
It’s hard to think of many things more important than helping GPs to always refer patients to those who will provide them with the very best help available. Yet we bet that, in New South Wales, its not being done. Do any of our readers know?
It’s a bit like, following an article in the media about six months ago suggesting that lives were being lost because ambulances were taking patients to the wrong hospital, we wrote to the completely and utterly useless Jillian Skinner asking if it was possible that frontline ambulance officers might ever be provided with any expert assistance to know which hospital to take patients too, and the completely and utterly useless Jillian Skinner hasn’t replied, and the completely and utterly useless Jillian Skinner never will.
As you may be able to tell, we’re a bit worked up about about these issues.
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