LOCKED UP INSTEAD OF BEING TREATED!

Another triumph of sensitive and caring public medicine in Australia. Would a fee-paying ciustomer get treated like this?

A hero bus driver was mistakenly locked in a hospital mental health ward after being offered counselling. Greg Gow, 54, of Bray Park, in Brisbane's north, had gone to the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital only to get treatment for a broken rib. But he ended up sitting in a locked room for four hours with potentially dangerous drug addicts and mental-health patients. "I wanted to get out but I was told I had to stay," he told The Sunday Mail.

Mr Gow has been widely praised for his actions when the bus he was driving in August suffered a mechanical problem. The bus, carrying 37 passengers including 16 children, narrowly missed a pole before crashing through bushes and a chain-wire fence and stopping against the side of a Bray Park house. No one suffered major injuries and Mr Gow was praised as a hero for his presence of mind in averting a tragedy. He was even mentioned in Parliament for his actions and he has been nominated for The Sunday Mail and The Courier-Mail Pride of Australia medal for courage. A witness described Mr Gow as "remarkable". Students on the bus signed a letter expressing their gratitude to him.

Mr Gow said he was still upset by his treatment at the hospital, where he was forced to endure four hours sitting on a hard chair with his broken rib in Ward GB – the acute mental health assessment unit. Mr Gow said the drama began when he accepted an offer to see a trauma counsellor and was taken with his wife Amy to Ward GB. "Here I was, supposed to be a hero, and I was stuck in this ward with drug addicts and people with mental illness," he said. "One guy beside me had an army jacket on and staff frisked him and found he had a screwdriver. "I just couldn't believe what was happening. I wanted to get out but I was told I had to stay. I could walk in but I couldn't walk out. "I was really shaken up by the bus accident and this was the last thing I needed. When the doctor offered me counselling, I didn't know they meant to take me there."

Mrs Gow, 55, said she realised they had been taken to the mental health ward only when the door to the ward locked behind them. "It didn't click at first where we were," she said. "Then the door locked shut behind us and we looked around at the other patients and it just didn't look right. I asked if we could go home and I was told that I could leave but Greg had to stay. It was unbelievable. I was so shocked. The whole public health system really needs an overhaul – it really needs to be a priority and it just doesn't seem to be."

Mr Gow said he was allowed out only when a friend also waiting with him became angry with staff and demanded he be released. Mr Gow was finally allowed to go home about 10.45pm – four hours later – without any counselling.

Mr Gow's local member of parliament, Labor's Linda Lavarch, wrote to Health Minister Gordon Nuttall on the Gows' behalf requesting an explanation and apology. "I really felt for them," Mrs Lavarch said. "They felt they were treated with no compassion and that there was a lack of communication. They were certainly distressed about how they felt they were treated.

Source

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For greatest efficiency, lowest cost and maximum choice, ALL hospitals and health insurance schemes should be privately owned and run -- with government-paid vouchers for the very poor and minimal regulation.

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