Melbourne hospital admits to treating pets

From ABC, 5 Oct. 08

MELBOURNE HOSPITAL ADMITS TO TREATING PETS

Melbourne's Alfred Hospital has admitted treating dogs and cats in its radiotherapy facilities.
The hospital says about 22 animals have been treated in the William Buckland Radiotherapy Centre since 2005.

A spokesman says the animals were treated after hours, and their treatment in no way compromised or undermined human care.

He says the animal service came at no financial cost to the hospital.

The State Government says it is disappointed the facilities have been used for animal treatment.
A spokesman for Victorian Health Minister Daniel Andrews says the hospital has assured the Minister the practice will be stopped.

He says the minister is satisfied with that assurance.

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I have 2 questions:

1. Couldn’t more patients be treated after hours instead of pets?
2. Could some human patients be treated in veterinary hospitals after hours?

Happy said:

I have 2 questions:

1. Couldn’t more patients be treated after hours instead of pets?
2. Could some human patients be treated in veterinary hospitals after hours?

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We if medicare covered it, the local vet would probably do a better job at certain jobs like stitches on a wound. They get more practice at it.

I think it is quite reasonable to treat someones pet after hours with radiotherapy, providing no person is missing out. I'm sure the Vet and the hospital came to a mutually beneficial agreement regarding cost. I am also equally sure if people are concerned regarding infection control issues that most domestic pets would be cleaner than many of the patients I came across in 26 years in the ambulance service

Knobby22 said:

We if medicare covered it, the local vet would probably do a better job at certain jobs like stitches on a wound. They get more practice at it.

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Agree with you there. Also note that a lot of the drugs used by vets are identical to ones used on humans, only the product name is changed. However I have found that my vet charges a lot more to treat my dog than my doctor charges me for the same service for myself and as you say there is no medicare or medibank refund.

Our local hospital only has funds to keep the operating ward open one day per week. If the vet "rented" it one day a week they the hospital could probably allocate the funds to keep it open an extra day for human use.

Don't get me going on hospitals. I've had too much to do with them lately.

nioka said:

Don't get me going on hospitals. I've had too much to do with them lately.

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Nioka, not seeking personal information, but could you give some sort of general outline of what sort of level of care you feel has been available through, presumably, public hospitals you've experienced?

Julia said:

Nioka, not seeking personal information, but could you give some sort of general outline of what sort of level of care you feel has been available through, presumably, public hospitals you've experienced?

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Both public and private.
1. Right at this moment the state government is selling land that was gifted to the local hospital 80 years ago and is part of the hospital grounds. Protests by locals have met with the situation that it is a condition to get funding necessary for the operation of the hospital.
2. I spent six weeks in the burns ward at Brisbane. Was told that it would have been two weeks less if they had certain equipment to image the depth of the burns. The equipment was worth about $175,000. I did use some contacts to do some stirring after I found that out. I don't know if my actions were the reason but by the time i was discharged they had the equipment.
3. I went to Brisbane by helicopter from Lismore Base Hospital because they couldn't treat me there. I had been transported to Lismore from the local hospital by ambulance for the same reason.
4. I spent a day in casualty in Brisbane waiting for a bed in a ward. I was discharged at short notice because of a bed shortage and waited uncomfortably in a transit lounge for 6 hours waiting to be collected.Beds are short.
5. I then had a two weeks wait for admission to a private hospital for more treatment.

Staff are mostly great. Hard working and dedicated. There are a few that have a lot to learn but haven't we all. No complaints there. The administration is questionable but generally it is budgets that seem to be the problem. The other problem is that there are people overloading the hospital system that should be cared for in other places. Casualty seems to be overloaded with cases that should be treated in the GP's surgeries and there are a lot that should be other types of institutions.

My daughter is a theatre nurse. I believe she is working harder than most people I know. Starts early, works late, says she doesn't stop all day most days. I have a fishing mate that is a surgeon, he doesn't get fishing very often.

nioka said:

The other problem is that there are people overloading the hospital system that should be cared for in other places. Casualty seems to be overloaded with cases that should be treated in the GP's surgeries and there are a lot that should be other types of institutions.

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I'm very sorry about your experiences, Nioka. Hope you're healing OK now.

Your experience also points up one of my concerns about living in a regional area. If any major trauma or illness happens, you have to be transported to a capital city for treatment.

On the function of hospitals generally, would the provision of 24 hour GP Clinics take some of the pressure off hospitals? When I was still living in Christchurch, there were two of these and they were well staffed, thus hugely reducing the people who present at A. & E. for minor complaints.