I am not usually a fan of state and federal government advertising, but I have to agree with the current campaign about people not clogging up emergency departments at our hospitals.
If you haven’t heard it, it is a radio campaign with a female nurse urging us not to go there unless it is an emergency.
Makes sense to me, particularly with International Nurses Day coming up on May 12.
I live with someone close to a nurse, but to be fair I am a bit of a hypochondriac so she doesn’t waste any of her valuable time on me when she has a plethora of wildlife around our residence that, at times, resembles a cross between Australia Zoo and Steptoe’s backyard.
Nurses do a fantastic job that they must love, as they sure don’t get the financial reward.
Strangely, I was reminded of my frequent trips to emergency in Nambour when I was a kid the other day when I cut my finger and ended up at hospital.
I told the admitting nurse that I felt the knife hit the bone.
Do you have an opinion to share? Submit a Letter to the Editor with your name and suburb at Sunshine Coast News via: news@sunshinecoastnews.com.au.
After a short wait, I was attended by someone who could have been related to my wife.
She looked at it, in between dealing with people needing care, came back and told me: “You never hit the bone, it was your fingernail. You can wait to see a doctor or I can patch it up and send you home. Your choice.”
“So, I don’t need a stitch?”
Monotone reply: “No, but you can wait and see a doctor. Your choice.”
I said: “So, I reckon you have been around awhile, so I will take your word for it. Patch it up.”
She only smiled once, when she said: “Okay, I will just flush it out first” as she loaded what looked a horse needle, “and this is going to hurt”.
She was right – it did bloody hurt. It didn’t need a stitch and I will probably think twice before I go back there wasting everyone’s time.
Help keep independent and fair Sunshine Coast news coming by subscribing to our free daily news feed. All it requires is your name and email. See SUBSCRIBE at the top of this article
It reminded me of Sister Rogerson at Nambour Hospital in the old days when many of us ended up there after footy, a surfing injury or a fight.
It was scary.
They knew their stuff and would fix you, but boy they let you know if you were wasting their time.
Sister Rogerson was a classic example of someone that was dedicated to the job, could even be described as a saint, but other times Saint Scary, for good reason.
Ashley Robinson is a columnist with Sunshine Coast News and My Weekly Preview. His views are his own.
