Health Care

[fluff]

Hi, I have an opportunity of a life time - or I think so!

The BBC run a programme called 'Wanted down under' and I have been interviewed to be on the show - it basically takes a family to Oz for a week free - you are given the opportunity to live/work and experience the life.

I want this opportunity - question - I am a chronic sufferer of psoriasis - which is a skin condition - and I am treated at Guy's hospital - London- with a new drug to the UK! - the BBC want me to find out about the health care system and give a comparision of the two ie. which is best pro and cons how the system in Oz works - and I thought the best people to ask are the brits experiencing the Oz health care system themselves.

If anyone is working in the health care system in Melbourne who wouldn't mind helping me find the answers to the more specific question regarding my skin treatment I would be eternally grateful - I want this opportunity - It's the dream the one I actually want to achieve.

Thank's everyone :idea:

[calNgary]

cant help you much with the health side of things but just to wish you good luck ,we made the pilot episode for this show last year and were the only ones to get nearly 3 weeks out here courtesy of the bbc ,,its good for a look around before the move ,,take care,why not try to contact Medicare who are the health providers over here,,
Cal x

[fluff]

a big thanks - its encouraging that someone who has done this is now living in Oz - well done - anything you can tell us to help us succeed in getting on the show.

again many thanks I hope you are glad you did it now

Fluff

[Gollywobbler]

a big thanks - its encouraging that someone who has done this is now living in Oz - well done - anything you can tell us to help us succeed in getting on the show.

again many thanks I hope you are glad you did it now

Fluff

Hi Fluff

I have just done a search on Goggle Australia for you (tell Google to find Google Australia and then tell GA to find web-pages from Oz. It is much quicker than trying to wade through Google UK.)

I was hoping to find a Psoriasis Association in Melbourne/Vic. So far, I have managed to find an Association for every other medical problem that has been mentioned on here. Because of the sheer vastmess of Oz, these Associations tend to have a National version of an Association/Foundation that covers the whole country, then there are Associations in each state too. The websites for the Associations usually have a forum/discussion section as well and some even have chatrooms.

I don't believe that a country which is often called dot.comstralia does not have an Internet Association for this condition. Trouble is, I know nothing about the condition so I don't know how to frame the search parameters. I tried it with Dermatology Association/Foundation + Victoria but got nowhere with that either.

Of you can find the relevant Association, you will get LOADS of help that ought to get you straight into the BBC seats on the plae (business class, I hope?)

I did discover that the Dermatology Dept of the Royal Melbourne Hospital appears to be a wold leader in the treatment of psoriaris and there were loads of links about a new drug they are developing/have developed. Maybe if you ring the hospital and get someone kindly in the Dermatology Dept he/she might know of an Assocation that you could contact about this.

What are the Beeb proposing to do though? Get you an appointment with the Head Honcho of the Dermatology Dept at the hospital whilst you are in Melbourne? Will the Beeb foot the bill for this consultation, assuming that it is possible to find a consultant dermatologist who is willing to see someone who is only going to be in Oz for 5 working days? The Health system in Oz is the same as here. You cannot go to a specialist there off your own bat. You have to be referred by a GP.

So unless the Beeb is willing to let you stay in Oz for at least a month, I think this might be difficult to set up. Try telling them that, I suggest. They are asking you to be a guinea pig but their timescale is unrealistically short because doctors are generally reluctant to see somebody who does not need their help on a clinical level, and they are likely to be unwilling to comment on the way a doctor in the UK is managing your case. Even if they would do it differently in Oz, they are not likely to say anything that might worry you, I wouldn't have thought.

Also, 5 days in Melbourne isn't long nough to see what effect the climate might have on your condition (this is sounding more like a month to me all the time....!!) You might be able to do a deal with the Beeb whereby they pay for the flights and 2 out of 4 weeks in Melbourne and you pay for the other two weeks or something. I would suggest that you go out there before the film crew so that you can do some digging locally about psoriasis before they arrive.

I would also suggest that you ask the Beeb to hunt around for the relevant Association in Victoria, because I think they are the people most likely to be able to supply some good leads.

I thought it was worth telling you the little I have discovered just to help you to get cracking with this.

Good luck and I shall look forward to seeing you on the telly.

Cheers

Gill

[Stuju]

Hi Fluff,
these 2 links may be of use to you,

Australian college of dermatologists

http://www.dermcoll.asn.au/public/a-...-psoriasis.asp

psoriasis australia
http://home.vicnet.net.au/~psorias/

good luck with the show
gizmo

[Gollywobbler]

Hi Fluff,
these 2 links may be of use to you,

Australian college of dermatologists

http://www.dermcoll.asn.au/public/a-...-psoriasis.asp

psoriasis australia
http://home.vicnet.net.au/~psorias/

good luck with the show
gizmo

Well done Gizmo. Thanks for your help. I didn't think of using "Psoriaris Australia."

Well done again, lass.

Cheers

Gill