When Whisper's first read of TV host Lisa Wilkinson's unfortunate fall in the shower while on holiday in Italy, our sympathy was with the poor lady. Lisa broke her arm in two places and having dealt with a relative just a year ago who suffered a similar fall with a broken arm, it was only the quick intervention of the doctor's at our inner city hospital St Vincent's that pain relief was finally administered.
Lisa gave an interview to her Nine Network's The Fix and seemed to be implying that the treatment she received in an Italian hospital was superb:
"I couldn't help but compare it to our experience in the USA in January, when our daughter swallowed a piece of pineapple the wrong way and it got stuck in her throat. There, we were treated with equal speed, warmth and professionalism -- but only after we had handed over credit-card details. And for what was only a very brief and successful procedure, the bills are still coming in -- for many thousands of dollars.
"Two countries, two systems. For me, it was the difference between running health care as a business, and providing it as a human right."
While Lisa's arm will need to be fitted for a plate upon her return to Sydney, she's grateful for the care she received abroad."
After x-rays showed the extent of the damage, the pair were sent to a larger hospital that despite looking "like a tattered 1950s warehouse from Beirut", Lisa says she received excellent care and was put in a plaster cast.
Shockingly, the ordeal didn't cost her a cent.
"In Italy, public hospitals are free for everyone, including blow-in tourists like us," she wrote.
Alas, Lisa now has a different view of her Italian medical experience as the Daily Telegraph thundered yesterday:
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"I couldn't help but compare it to our experience in the USA in January, when our daughter swallowed a piece of pineapple the wrong way and it got stuck in her throat. There, we were treated with equal speed, warmth and professionalism -- but only after we had handed over credit-card details. And for what was only a very brief and successful procedure, the bills are still coming in -- for many thousands of dollars.
"Two countries, two systems. For me, it was the difference between running health care as a business, and providing it as a human right."
While Lisa's arm will need to be fitted for a plate upon her return to Sydney, she's grateful for the care she received abroad."
After x-rays showed the extent of the damage, the pair were sent to a larger hospital that despite looking "like a tattered 1950s warehouse from Beirut", Lisa says she received excellent care and was put in a plaster cast.
Shockingly, the ordeal didn't cost her a cent.
"In Italy, public hospitals are free for everyone, including blow-in tourists like us," she wrote.
Alas, Lisa now has a different view of her Italian medical experience as the Daily Telegraph thundered yesterday:
Bad doctors leave Lisa Wilkinson's arm in 's-bend' as she reveals it'll
take another 12 months to heal
Whatever the outcome we wish Lisa all the best. A broken arm is very debilitating for someone who still goes to work every day.
Whatever the outcome we wish Lisa all the best. A broken arm is very debilitating for someone who still goes to work every day.
