MEMBERS of the local medical fraternity and the public have called on the Greater Southern Area Health Service to take urgent steps to introduce modern, publicly funded radiology equipment and associated bulk billing services at the Tumut District Hospital under the public health system.

Letters have been sent to the CEO of GSAHS Stuart Schneider and the NSW Health Minister from at least two Tumut doctors' surgeries, as well as others written by private citizens who have been concerned for some time over the existing arrangements.

Ultrasound services in the region are currently supplied by a single private radiology provider based in Wagga, in contrast to other centres such as Cooma or Canberra where the hospitals have modern equipment operated as part of the public health system, and bulk billing is available.

While an ultrasound service has been available at the Tumut Hospital on Mondays through the provider, it is usually only for a limited time and according to reports the Toshiba equipment presently located there is not suitable for many examinations.

One Tumut doctor who has recently undergone training in the use of ultrasound and asked to be able to use the ultrasound machine if needed during emergencies, such as during the night to assess critical cases, had his request denied.

The Times has been told a significant number of people are experiencing difficulty accessing the contracted radiology services in Tumut and Wagga to the point where some patients, particularly pensioners and low-income earners, are opting to go without diagnostic procedures, given the absence of bulk billing for ultrasounds and certain other services.

Local resident Sue Swann says under current arrangements bulk billing for ultrasound is denied to all patients, forcing pensioners and people with scant resources to pay hundreds of dollars up front for services such as breast imaging.

She says she had reports that in some cases the provider has charged well above the scheduled fee, but did provide a discount if payment was made on the day of service.

"Alternatively, if patients can get a friend or relative to take them to Canberra they are charged less, pensioners are bulk billed, appointments are within days not weeks, and results are to hand within hours," she said.

"I am aware that some patients have gone without having treatment because they couldn't afford it. This is outrageous," says Ms Swann.

She said given the limited capacities of the existing equipment at Tumut hospital, in some cases local people have had no alternative other than to arrange private transport to get to Wagga or Canberra.

"Patients who are already in pain from injury or other chronic conditions such as arthritis find it physically difficult to travel in a bus and spend a whole day in Wagga," she said.

She says she was even more amazed to have been told that there was no ultrasound machine at Wagga Base Hospital itself, with in-patients having been transported to private medical premises elsewhere in Wagga.

"This is not only financially and administratively inefficient; it places an undue burden and inconvenience on patients to be carted around the countryside in wheelchairs and vehicles, whilst in many cases suffering pain and discomfort, not to mention the embarrassment.

"Wagga is the largest inland city in NSW, and it is extraordinary that it is without publicly funded ultrasound services," she said.

She said other private companies had indicated a willingness to offer a better radiology service to Tumut and other centres, but because the current provider had an implied contract there did not seem to be an end in sight to that situation.

Also the subject of concern is the time taken in having X-ray and MRI results delivered into the hands of local doctors. There are claims it can take up to three to four days, compared with one to three hours when a patient goes to Canberra.

In relation to the standard of equipment currently at Tumut, those lobbying for far more frequent access to modern, state of the art equipment radiology services locally say this would negate the need for those requiring certain examinations such as shoulders, joints, breasts morphology etc to have to go to another centre.

Whilst acknowledging that it is necessary in some instances for a doctor to be present during an examination and that this presents an economic difficulty for the provider, those agitating for an upgraded local service say the current service at Tumut Hospital is threadbare.

They have appealed to locals, particularly those who have had difficulty accessing and paying for radiology services, to support their calls by writing to the Member for Burrinjuck Katrina Hodgkinson, to this newspaper, and to talk to doctors about the situation.

"We need affordable and accessible ultrasound as a basic health service here in Tumut," adds Ms Swann.

Tumut & Adelong Times

Friday September 2 2005