With soaring medical bills, increasing waiting times and an ageing population, how is our healthcare system coping and what will it look like in future? In Healthcare’s Silver Squeeze, Insight hears from practitioners and patients caught in the healthcare cost crisis and asks, who should pay the price? Watch on
Navigating the healthcare system in Australia has become increasingly burdensome, leaving me and my elderly parents feeling helpless.
Not seeing my parents have the best care upsets me, because they have contributed so much to this country.
My parents, Muzeyyen and Abdurrahman, came here in 1970 from Türkiye when they were in their 20s.
They came for a better life — and they did the hardest, dirtiest jobs with very little pay.
In recent years, my parents have faced significant challenges in managing their healthcare needs due to their age and their inability to speak and understand English.
As they age, their English language skills have deteriorated, as has their ability to self-advocate.
My mum’s dementia and Type 2 diabetes plus my dad’s increasing forgetfulness, aches, pains and fatigue have made things more difficult.
Mum has an amazing nurse who visits four evenings each week to administer her insulin and medications. They also receive visits from very caring support workers through their My Aged Care home packages.
But this care remains insufficient.
Yasmin says her parents should be receiving better healthcare in Australia in their later life — which upsets her because they “contributed so much to this country”. Source: Supplied
Every few weeks a new condition appears or their existing conditions worsens, yet the system struggles to respond.
Trying to keep up with my parents’ increasing healthcare needs is overwhelming, especially being a solo parent with three children and a household to care for.
Every few weeks a new condition appears … yet the system struggles to respond.
Yasmin
‘Exhausting’ process to get attention
Our greatest challenge has been finding a consistent, compassionate and bulk-billing family doctor who genuinely follows up on tests, reports, suggests new medications, and writes prescriptions without me constantly chasing these up.
A family doctor who is committed to my parents’ health and wellbeing and knows them well enough to make follow-up appointments would not only help the health of my parents long term, but also benefit my own mental health.
Where we live, all the GPs used to bulk bill. Now they don’t. You can’t expect people who are on a pension, with the cost of living currently, to pay $100 to see a doctor.
It’s also so frustrating that appointments are limited to just one issue at a time — when did this become a thing?
Getting an appointment takes at least a week, and preparing my parents for the visit — dressing, driving, and arriving and waiting at the clinic — takes up to two hours, only to be told we can discuss one health issue per visit.
It would be incredibly refreshing to find a GP who offers longer consultations and doesn’t rush through them, especially while I’m translating and trying to ensure my elderly parents are understood and cared for.
We’re not even able to see the same doctor each time. There’s no relationship there; genuine, authentic communication and care doesn’t seem to exist anymore.
The system feels like a transactional exchange rather than one of care.
Muzeyyen (left) and Abdurrahman receive regular visits from a nurse and support workers but their daughter Yasmin says this care is not enough for their needs. Source: Supplied
Going to the emergency department isn’t a viable solution either, as the waiting rooms are overcrowded, and the experience can be a long, frustrating ordeal.
More often than not, I find myself trying to ease my mum’s pain with kind words, a few painkillers, and a listening ear to avoid that chaos.
The system feels more like it’s working against us than supporting us, and I’m left with the constant worry that I’m not doing enough for my parents, despite my best efforts.
That in itself is exhausting.
How are our multicultural elderly Australians like my parents actually able to access good quality healthcare?
A decision to leave
Over the past few years, as I’ve witnessed my parents’ struggles, I’ve found myself reflecting deeply on my own future, particularly my retirement years.
We’ve been repeatedly told that Australia is facing an ageing population — that decades from now, this demographic will grow significantly.
With the rising cost of living, , and the , I’ve begun to question what the future holds.
Yasmin plans to leave Australia in later life so she can receive superior healthcare. Source: Supplied
I can’t help but wonder whether Australia’s healthcare system will be able to meet the needs of the growing elderly population.
I’m increasingly contemplating the possibility of moving overseas, where I could age with greater assurance that I’ll have access to quality care and be able to live with dignity.
The direction Australia’s healthcare system is heading makes this option feel not only logical but, perhaps, necessary to ensure my final years are lived in abundance of kindness, peace and care.
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