I paid $58 the other day for a packet of 20 Celebrex tablets to help my ankles get back to normal. $58. In Australia it’s less than half that for a packet three times as big, and here the minimum wage is $5 a day.
The overall standard of medical care is quite distressing. After a week here I was still suffering shocking jetlag, and asked a recommended doctor to prescribe me something to help me get to sleep early for a couple of nights to recalibrate myself. I discovered at the chemist that he’s given me hardcore antidepressants, a type that are usually only used in clinically acute situations.
The orthopaedic guy I saw about my ankles sorted me out with some great custom made innersoles, but he tried to get me to do bouncy stretches — something that hasn’t been recommended in Australia since the late 70s.
Most disturbing of all is that the antidepressant doctor told one of my teachers that as she was not sexually active, the pain and swelling in her breast could not possibly be cancer. That’s right. If you have a family history of breast cancer, don’t bother with mammograms and self-screening, just take a vow of celibacy!
I’m angry that people here don’t have access to what they need to take care of their health, and that the pharmaceutical monopolies, propped up by the government, make even simple and common medicines too expensive for all but the richest. I’m frustrated that the prevailing culture here is that the ‘Doctor is God’, and health services consumers don’t receive the kind of respect and info they’re entitled to.
Grrr.
