Fancy being told you’re “too fat” to receive vital health treatment.
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Today’s article about Gary Humpherston’s battle for treatment suggests our health system is not doing its job.
It’s hard to understand a health system that refuses a 50kg man the nutritional supplement he needs to help him put on weight.
A tall man of 50kg who has pancreatitis, he was told he’d need to lose another 6kg to be eligible for the drip.
This is disgraceful.
Mr Humpherston says all he wants is to weigh 60kg and not fall over in public - not a big ask.
Southern NSW Local Health District provided a brief response in the article, but it did not say what options were available for this man or confirm if this was a new “rule” in place for pancreatitis patients.
They said there were risks involved.
It seems risks and funding have become the focus for today’s healthcare.
When will patients, the people who pay taxes, become the focus?
If a man who is suffering as much as Mr Humpherston can’t access proper medical treatment, what hope is there for the rest of us?
- Pam Frost