What price on health care?

SIR, - I am writing in response to the article published and letter written by Sue Swann in a recent edition of the Tumut & Adelong Times.

As a Tumut resident and a patient that has used the facilities of Regional Imaging on many occasions I would like to say that I disagree with Ms Swann's view of the company.

I do agree with her views of the public system and agree that more facilities should be made available for the public patients of our region. This is not the fault of Regional Imaging, they are instead doing us a favour by providing us with the services that they do.

Regional Imaging is a private practice and comes to the Turnut Hospital on a weekly basis to provide a service that we as Tumut and surrounding residents should appreciate. The staff of Regional Imaging provide a friendly service and results are given as soon as they can possible be given, in an urgent case I was able to have access to results on the same day within a matter of hours.

They are a Private Practice thus allowing them to charge over and above the scheduled fee. Just as the General Practitioners, Specialists and other Health Care providers that charge over and above the scheduled Medicare fees.

Who puts a price on their health care? If you require specialised health care you pay for it. It's the way our health care system operates. Until the government provides us access to better equipped public health care facilities within the Riverina we should be saying thank you to Regional Imaging for providing us with the services that our Hospitals don't.

Yours etc.,

(Name and address withheld)

TUMUT & ADELONG TIMES

September 16 2005