Hi guys,
I hope you're all having a great day!
My name is Jerusha. I am a leading disability advocate from Melbourne, Australia. I can't currently drive due to my physical disability. Therefore, it is challenging to see my general practitioner in person if I need to.
Henceforth I am calling on the National Home Doctor Service and the Department of Health to consider extending the service in the daytime for those who can't drive. I'd also love to see more professionalism within the system.
For example, I recently booked an appointment with the National home doctor's service. And my experience was terrible. I missed a call from their admin staff, and I tried returning their call. I waited for nearly two hours on the phone, but no one picked up. So I emailed them instead. It was becoming 12, and no doctor came. So I decided to go to sleep. I later realised that the doctor had come very late, and no one answered because I was asleep and did not know when he would arrive. They didn't notify me.
I tried booking an appointment the following day. But they said I'm only eligible for a Telehealth Appointment at my cost. It looks like they blocked me from their systems over this one incident which was their fault.
They make excuses that it's COVID and they have high call volumes, but that's not a valid excuse. If the demand is high, they need significant reform and change to make more reliable and timely systems. They speak about making things accessible, but they're not doing anything dramatic enough to change this. It's such an absolute shame. We need to make things accessible, especially for those who can't drive. They need to stop being stringent and hire more admin staff and doctors. They are many doctors that are seeking meaningful employment.
I know I'm not alone in this. It has got so many bad reviews over the last few years. It is rated significantly low. And I'm sorry that it had to be this way. As an aspiring healthcare professional, I see the need to speak up for this and create change in this space. Would you care to join me?
Please sign and share this petition to get it done. Let's fix a system that's broken.
Please see petition link below:
Many thanks,
Jerusha