Not the real thing !

The Federal government is trying to reduce pressure on hospital emergency departments and to this end has set up a " GP Helpline " which has been operating in NSW, ACT, Northern Territory, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania since July.

The purpose of this GP Helpline is to act as a filter to reduce unnecessary visits to hospital emergency departments. The caller is connected to a doctor who will assess the patient's condition and make appropriate recommendations for treatment.

This Helpline has fielded 74,567 calls so far, and of these thirty-five percent have been directed to either a hospital emergency department or an after hours medical clinic. It is estimated that twenty thousand presentations to emergency departments have been saved because the Helpline has deemed them unnecessary.

Some medical people have reservations about the danger this involves. The biggest factor seems to be the lack of face to face consultation. In a hospital emergency room the patient is attended by a highly trained triage nurse. In a Helpline situation, it is merely a voice on the phone, and in some cases - that of a friend of the unwell relaying a message.

There are numerous complications that can arise. Some people are embarrassed at talking about sensitive areas of their body and it's functions, while others are merely making the call to allay the concern of loved ones - and have no intention of following the directions given.

It seems inevitable that we will eventually read of what will be described as a " failed diagnosis " that leads to a patient's death. Unfortunately, this Helpline is " not the real thing " as happens when the patient is face to face with a doctor - and that doctor see's as well as hears when making a diagnosis.

It is all a matter of stretching the dollar budget ever further - and ever thinner - to meet the needs of an ever expanding population. That brings with it the inevitability that some people will slip between the cracks !