"A dose of common sense is needed to fix cardiac health care" for people who live in the Manning Valley, according to Cathy Whyte.
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The Mayo Private Hospital Cardiac Catheter Laboratory in Taree is closed to public patients. It is closed to Cathy's 82-year-old father, Brian Abberton, despite the reality that his fragile heart needs intensive cardiac management and his care would be improved with access the private hospital's diagnostic and treatment services.
Cathy is one of an increasing number of people in the Manning Valley who want the NSW government and Hunter New England Local Health District (HNELHD) to work with Mayo Private Hospital to develop a public-private partnership agreement to allow public patients to access it services.
The current state-of-play is that public patients with cardiac conditions must present to Manning Hospital for treatment and if higher level care and diagnostic services are required they will receive treatment in John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle.
That's the position repeatedly stated by HNELHD and it is one Cathy challenges based on her father's experience of cardiac care in the public health system in Taree. Her hope is that her choice to speak, to add her voice to other stories of poor cardiac care in the Manning Valley will prompt the NSW minister for health, Jillian Skinner and HNELHD chief executive officer, Michael DiRienzo to review the delivery of cardiac services and look to the mooted public-private partnership agreement as a viable option.
Cathy is quick to begin the conversation with the statement that "we are locked in to the public system" and says her father is under the medical care of Wyong-based cardiologist, Dr Thomas Wong.
"In 1982 dad had his first quadruple heart bypass and then another in 1994," Cathy said.
"Because he had a pre-existing heart condition no private insurance company would touch him. We are locked in to the public system."
Decades of cardiac care delivered by the hands of nurses and doctors is applauded by Cathy, but in recent years she says "the system itself leaves a lot to be desired."
Four years ago, Brian chose to move to the Manning Valley after the death of his wife, Betty. The couple loved one another for more than six decades and her death devastated Brian.
"Dad wanted a clean break from all the memories and the history and the house, so he moved up here," Cathy said.
"With that decision I started to research all the stuff that dad would need to access to continue with his heart care.
"I was shocked. I could not believe it. Now I know it's Taree - it's not Port Macquarie or Newcastle - but to not even have some basic level of cardiac care was astounding.
"The limited services that are available up here as a public patient are next to nothing. Unless you need an ambulance it's non-existent.
"To have the run of the mill tests - those that you can access here - well you wait, and you wait, and you wait.
"I assumed that because we had a large hospital that dad would be able to get cardiac care. Well you know what they say about assumptions!"
In 2012 Cathy and Brian learned their assumption of care at Manning Hospital was terribly flawed when they presented at the emergency department.
Brian had "raging temperatures and was basically nearly at death's door," recalls Cathy.
His heart history now included an operation to fit a defibrillator and Cathy says when he shared that news with the emergency department staff, "Manning Base wouldn't touch him because they didn't put it in."
"They said, where is your local hospital that you've previously had treatment? and dad said, Gosford Hospital.
"We were told to go to Gosford Hospital. So we drove to Gosford Hospital and they said, we didn't put it in so we can't touch you."
With that news they drove back to Taree. Cathy says it was almost midnight by the time they arrived home.
"I turned to dad and asked, what do you want to do?
"He said, well I'm feeling like absolute crap, so I said, well the only option we have is to go back down to Royal North Shore Hospital where they fitted the defibrillator.
"So we were then up again at 5am to drive to Royal North Shore Hospital. They admitted him straight away and he was treated straight away on March 27, 2012 by Dr Bererton.
"He had a haemotoma underneath it (the defibrillator), an infection, raging temperatures. Dad's basically nearly at death's door and this took two days to fix and when we finally got him in to Royal North Shore he then had to find his own transport home.
"He got no medical treatment in Manning Hospital, and look, I can understand, but at the same time I can't understand, why they wouldn't touch him in regards to the defibrillator. They could have at least looked at dad and said, well this is what the problem is and get to your heart specialist ASAP. But we did not even have that option."
Cathy said public patient access to the Mayo Private Hospital would improve cardiac services for patients in the region and called on member for Myall Lakes, Stephen Bromhead to "upgrade the standard of services at Manning Hospital, grant access to Mayo Private Hospital for public patients and provide the basic care necessary for cardiac patients."
"There are so many of them in this area and there's only going to be more," Cathy said.
She says she wants Mr Bromhead "to stop passing the buck and saying, that it's a federal issue. It's not a federal issue, it's a State issue and to stop fiddle-farting around. I need him to step up".
"If they had access to the Mayo it would take pressure off Manning Hospital and stop so many people having to travel.
"It's a shame because our area is growing really quickly and there are certain responsibilities that need to be undertaken by the health system that they aren't doing and it's really shocking."