Hi @Romla, my surgeon told me that she could operate on me in the public system when I was first diagnosed, but it would have been a 3 week wait, instead of the next day or two and she couldn’t guarantee that a trainee surgeon wouldn’t be involved.
My chemo was all covered by private health insurance. I think it’s the radiotherapy that’s the problem. I would have gone through the public system if I hadn’t got it cheaper than usual privately. I don’t think there would have been a delay with having radiotherapy in the public system. They need to stop taking from people who are already paying a lot of out of pocket expenses.
I went to the emergency department last year at 3am. They asked me if I wanted to use my private cover. My response was that I was happy to be treated as a public patient at that time. It’s a balance. Private health insurance is expensive and they are going to drive more people into the public system which will make the waiting times longer for everyone.