An Indian woman living in New Zealand has sparked a discussion about access to healthcare after sharing her struggle to get a doctor’s appointment for her child, who had been suffering from a persistent cough for 10 days.
She said the experience left her appreciating how quickly patients can consult doctors in India.
“Hi everyone! So you guys often ask how the medical facilities are in New Zealand, right? So let me tell you. I called this morning—like everyone has a local medical center here, so I called them. So we thought, fine, let’s wait. Maybe he has an internal infection or needs some antibiotics. So, here there is an after-hours system. Let me tell you, we came to the after-hours clinic where walk-in patients are usually seen. But just imagine, it was so overcrowded here too that—let me show you what they’ve put up on the board.
Kevith has a cough, and it’s been going on for the last 10 days. But it has been 10 days and it’s not getting better, so I felt we should get him checked. Because they don’t really prescribe medicines much here, so I thought, okay, let’s wait and see if it gets better on its own,.
But they said they don’t have any appointments for a week. She then showed a notice displayed at the clinic which read: “We are sorry but we are at capacity and unable to take any more patients tonight.” Today is Thursday, and the appointment they gave me is for next Wednesday.
Explaining how difficult the situation could be for parents, Srivastava continued: “So look, these are the medical facilities here. Anyone coming to New Zealand from India or anywhere else with their children, please be mentally prepared regarding medical care for kids. Adults can still manage somehow, but for children, managing these things becomes very necessary. So do bring proper medicines with you. Now I feel I should have brought a couple of antibiotics for Kevith, which I didn’t. But next time, I will definitely keep this in mind. Just think, even here the situation is such that even the after-hours clinic is so full that they’ve refused to take any more patients. So you can imagine how difficult a situation this is for any parent to handle when your child is sick. I’ve seen this kind of situation in many countries. Otherwise, it is a very developed country, but when it comes to medical care, perhaps India is the best. In India, you can go to a hospital or clinic immediately, see a doctor right away, and everything gets sorted quickly. But it’s not like that here.”
And the appointment I booked today is for an entire week later.
