3 years ago I developed a hernia and decided I needed to get it looked at. I went to my GP and he referred me to a major government hospital in Melbourne (Australia). I was on a waiting list because it was deemed to be elective surgery. After 6 months I decided I did not want to wait any longer and booked myself in to a local private hospital with hernia specialists. I was operated on about 10 days later and eliminating the wait cost me $5000. But it was worth it for me at the time. About 18 months later I received an email asking me to come in for a consultation because I finally got to the front of the list. The wait would have been 2 years. About a month ago I was feeling chest pains that frightened me. I checked Google and the recommendation was to go an ER as soon as possible. I was a bit embarrassed to call an ambulance so hopped on a tram and was in the ER 20 minutes later. As soon as I mentioned to the admitting staff that I had chest pains I was immediately taken into the ER ward, stripped, had line placed in my hand and hooked up to monitoring equipment. Zero wait. I was there for almost 24 hours, and had blood tests, CAT scan, X-rays, and constant monitoring on ECG machines. When all the tests came back normal I was told to rest in the bed till morning and then I was free to leave. Cost? Zero. Waiting time? close to zero. TLDR: In Australian government hospitals for elective procedures you wait, but for emergencies there is no wait. Bother are free.
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