Public Hospitals in South Australia (SA)

The Department of Health in South Australia is entrusted with the running of public hospitals South Australia. All South Australians are entitled to free public hospitals and visits to their local GP due to the medicare scheme. Medicare was introduced into Australia in 1984 to reform Australia's health care system and is now regarded as one of the best health care systems in the world today. All working Australians pay for medicare with tax being deducted from wages to pay for medicare. There are currently approximately 21 million medicare members enrolled in Australia today.

There are two different types of hospitals in Australia, they are private hospitals and public hospitals. All citizens and permanent residents are entitled to free hospital care with any public hospital in Australia. Private hospitals will charge you for any procedures or time you spend in a private hospital. Most patients who go to a private hospital for treatment are enrolled with a Private health insurance company and have hospital cover included in their policy. In the event that you are covered then most private health insurance companies will allow the individual to choose the private hospital that they attend. Recently the Australian Government announced a 30% rebate on fees for citizens of Australia who take out private health insurance, unfortunately when the Government announced these rebates most private health insurers raised their premiums.

There are currently large waiting lists for people looking to undergo elective surgery in South Australia and this is putting an enormous strain on public hospitals. This is why the Australian Government introduced the 30% rebate so that more Australians would take out private health insurance and relieve some of the strain on public hospitals throughout South Australia.

To be admitted into a public hospital in South Australia it is important to be referred firstly by your local GP to see a specialist and then the specialist will provide a letter for you to take with you for admittance into a public hospital. The other way to be admitted into a public hospital is to go through the accident and emergency department that is for people who need urgent medical care. On most occasions there are extremely long waiting lists in the emergency departments and it may depend on what condition your in as to when you are seen by a doctor. Obviously the more serious the ailment the faster you will be processed. When you are admitted into a public hospital in Australia it is important to notify staff of any medication or treatment you may be having at the time which your admitted. You must also notify staff if you have been taking any recreational drugs that may affect the treatment that is provided.

Doctors working within public and private hospitals throughout Australia must explain to patients the treatment that they recommend and the individual must first agree to the treatment. Also the doctor must explain any risks associated with the treatment provided and any possible side effects the treatment or medicines my pose.