Dear Sir,

Dr Edward Schultz is exactly correct in his summary of the state of affairs. The tip of the iceberg. Don’t let us have another Titanic.

Do we need an atrium or a hospital?

The Emergency Room does a fabulous job. If it was not for them, I would probably be dead.

Why do patients have to go to Emergency?

They can’t get an appointment for weeks, or can’t afford the appointment. Pensioners cannot keep paying $135 after their quota of visits is finished, or if they have a question regarding medications, etc, have to pay another $135 to speak to the doctor, charged as a visit! Or because they need a refill, by phone another $12 to $15 as they have run out of medications.

So what happens?

The diabetic has no meds. The leg ulcer gets bigger. The pain gets worse.

End product. The Emergency Room where they help you. Then as the diabetes is now out of control, a hospital admission is needed to rectify the situation. The ulcer that was the size of a dime is now a crater, which will take at least six months to heal, taking up a hospital bed, and so it goes on.

To get a specialist takes months, and don’t forget another $135 for the GP’s referral.

I was still waiting for my referral after two months! It could have became a funeral director’s referral if I hadn’t gone to Emergency, and they discovered something serious. I will always be grateful to the doctors who discovered what I had and had been ignored.

Dr Schultz is one-in-a-million smart. He puts the welfare of the patient first and foremost. He is professional to the last.

Don’t ignore the message before it’s too late.

Speaking out is the only way, as Martin Luther King Jr spoke out. As did Rosa Parks. She didn’t stand up for rights, she stayed seated on the bus which took courage.

Thank you for the privilege of expressing my opinion.

To the designers of the hospital where the atrium is beautiful but bed space is more comfortable.

Have abdominal surgery and try and get up from a boutique toilet 12 inches high or a knee replacement and you will realise boutique is not quite “The Thing”.

MRS P LEIBOWITCH

Retired nurse

Warwick