While having my evening cup of coffee at a local café, a headline caught my attention. Usually, the word ’doctor’ does not regularly shine as a newspaper headlines, and hence, I picked up to read more for the story.
Interestingly, there is a widespread assumption that developed countries such as Australia are delivering a perfect health system; however, in a real scenario, there are numerous issues which is creating trouble for patients and health system. One such dilemma of the hospital of Australia is ‘the waiting of the patients for a waiting list’. According to leading newspaper, Western Australia*: in a tertiary hospital such as Fiona Stanley people often wait for more than a year for the first appointment with a specialist.
When I compare the promptness of availability of medical providers perhaps, India is doing better than countries such as Australia. However, sadly in India, not all medical providers can avail the best infrastructure for the treatment provided. For instance, a qualified surgeon, operating in a small town /village hospital lack a multidisciplinary team and support of local government agencies. On the other hand, a tertiary institute equipped with high-quality facilities and robust liaison system ought to deliver a better chance of a successful outcome. However, such multi-facility infrastructure increases the overall cost of medical management. Additionally, for a large hospital, governing and investing money in the building and equipment take up a considerable focus rather than patients and doctors. Therefore, calibrating quality with quantity require innovation and precise knowledge.
Channelizing a good health care system is not only difficult but also tricky at the same time. For me, it is a collaboration of community and government not a competition between various health sectors and people.
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Note for readers:
Above views are not intended to criticise any country or policy. It is a reflection drawn from my journey in the field of health sciences and experiences gained in India and Australia. Undoubtedly, quality provided by health sector of Australia is one of the best from the world standards however, it need some improvement in certain areas, such as , waiting time to see a specialist in a tertiary hospital.
Health Sociology 
Great write up dear Gargi…Thanks for bringing this up!
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Well said Dr
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