I think it is great to have the option of telehealth. For example when I had bad reaction to some medication being able to speak to the GP by phone explain the problem and then he texted a link to the new scrip I needed. Far better than waiting for a normal appt. I'd already seen him so didn't need to see him again just to change script. Similarly some of my hsb specialist appt have been by phone saving long trip to the city with associated risks in a pandemic. Unfortunately telehealth is not the same as face to face. You can't check physical symptoms properly. Last year hand therapy appt changed to video due to outbreak. The result is ongoing issues which will probably never resolve because the person could check properly what was happening and if I was doing the excercises correctly as it was too hard over a screen. There seems to be too much inconsistancy re telehealth with some doctors etc using covid as an excuse to just do telehealth when it is inappropriate.

Hi everyone and hope you're coping as best you are able today.

I've read a few posts here and felt so sad seeing people at a crisis point and asking "what's the point anymore?". And yet today I feel the same way... Hopeless.

Here is WA the restrictions are growing daily. I hate it all. Had to get double vaxxed just to keep my job. Now at my work we have to prove boosters too and I can't do it. First two reacted badly with my immune suppressants and I'm limping about and in pain all over again. My rhematologist won't even try apply for an exemption, she says we'll just add even more meds. How many boosters until I can't walk again? Why bother, if I can't move I can't do my job anyway. May as well just quit. Wish I had done that in the first place.

Thank goodness my kids don't have to be vaccinated to go to their school (yet anyway). At least we have a strong homeschooling community here when it all goes to pot. They'll probably ban us from meeting up as a school group though. I keep worrying how long until my kids are rejected from karate, or swimming lessons. There is no choice or freedom.

I don't bother with the news anymore. Comments are all closed so no-one can have a say and anyone who wants freedom to choose is automatically labelled as crazy or uneducated anyway.

Hubby doesn't feel much more positive either. He's started upgrading all the veggie patches, got more chooks and pretty much says we're just going to have to fend for ourselves because to the government we are just another number.

I feel so hopeless.

PS I am safe by the way, just down and needed to vent.

Sorry to read Quercus... but thank u for your voice; i feel exactly the same way. Just wanted to reply and say u are heard and understood.

Thank you Golden82, I'm sorry you feel like this too. Fingers and toes crossed we can claw back some sort of hope eventually.

Hi, I don't like telehealth but I guess it's cool that we have that as an option. I feel for specialist appointments I worry j won't grt as thorough treatment via telehkeath .

I am seeing a sleep specialist soon and am disappointed it's felehelath ,

Hi sleepy telehealth is a great idea but didn't work for everyone and every situation.They have been doing specialist appointments before covid by phone as they offered me one but I said I was happy to drive two and half hours to see a specialist.I am lucky now they have a specialist in the next big town.

Well said makr. I think that makes sense, I'd also drive to get there....

For me telehelath has been good for: gp check ins when I still go in occasionally, just not as much. I still like to go in face in face face to see my gp, when availible

Online groups for mental, health , educational ones like mindfulness or craft

One on one psych appointments for an assessment

I do not like telehealth for

Ongoing therapy

Peer support or recovery groups where ppl share and connect

Specialist appointments

Hi Sleepy, absolutely agree with your list. I have not done online groups etc, but they sound good. But i have decided to quit my psych as she's only done telehealth for 2 months since SA borders opened and i am getting worse with talking on phone ie not in same room to discuss trauma. It shows for me it is just a job for her .. it doesn't feel caring at all and i get worse afterwards. I actually just got off a helpline now about this very issue. And decided to quit her and find a psych willing to work in person. For me that is the most important part. To feel safe and supported. Valued and not just a number. It is sub standard care she is offering with phone calls. But it means have to be vulnerable and start all over again. How many times must we do this?

And yes, how can they do specialists on phone? I was meant to have one the other week and they had to do a physical exam and the receptionist said they would try do it on zoom. How? Sub- standard care. At the same cost. I cancelled and rebooked later hoping it changes. All these rules for covid are causing other crucial medical exams to be impacted. It is way out of kilter.

Also with gp telehealth, often they call 2hrs late. I get so distressed and anxious with this. It is rude and wastes the day waiting anxiously by the phone. Also for sub standard care. I have had enough of all of it really.

Thanks for your list though as it is my thoughts too and reinforces that i need to find better.. ie ppl willing to support face to face.

Hi Golden, thanks uve made such great points here and helped me as I was trying to think it through myself!

It is seriously sub standard care from specialists!

There are therapists who work face to face during this time, I am so grateful. I have ptsd and feel it is hard to not have sessions in person, because I can avoid more and hide my feelings....thank u golden for being so insightful and sharing.

WA borders staying in place!!! Party for one at my place right now! So relieved 😊😊😊😊😊

I also hear your voice Quercus. You are not alone.

Hi golden82, for some health workers u really see it is just a job. This makes me think of many services that let me down at this time.

I hope u find someone who can see u in person.

I forgot completely what my PDr had said, when he told me about how Medicare was 'tweaking' telehealth for him to work within. I thought they were okay with a telehealth item for a slightly shorter non-video telehealth consultation, & that (I thought) if I wanted, he would see me face to face, But no, he's not doing that for the time being. He does want telehealth with video, for a bit longer each session. He can go back to charging his usual fee, & medicare will reimburse me for some of the cost. My bank balance goes backwards until I reach the first medicare safety net, for a few months. (That doesn't change!)

So, I gotta turn on Face Time, & work through my discomfort about that. I'll have to at least put a shirt on, even if the weather is hot & humid, & maybe even a light in my flat!

We've discussed the pros & cons of telehealth since we began sessions in March 2020.

He has tried, all this time, to give me as good a service as always. I am certain he would have continued the telehealth we've been doing, if Medicare hadn't complicated it wihth their requirement that it be with video.

This way, he, his colleague, all the patients - we are eliminating any risk of COVID-19 being spread amongst us. I am grateful we can have telehealth for consultations wih Psychiatrist's. If I am forced to deal with video calls, to keep Medicare happy, that's a bonus! I am reluctant, but must try. Could be hilarious trying to get my phone positioned so he can at least see it really is me! (I'm not sure I'll be actively tr;ying to view him. I never actually saw him much before, why start now? Of-course, I could turn on face time & continue to lay my phone down, facing the ceiling, on a box on my table, next to where I sit, so it's close enough to pick up my voice...😸& leave it at that!

Certainly, for physical examinations, I do not think telehealth can adequately replace the Doctor (GP or Specialist), being in the same room with a patient in there, too.

mmMekitty

hi all

i wish we had a card for vaccinations, like a little thing you could put in ur wallet. i carry my cert around with me, but then they ahve to ask me for id to check it's me. Sometimes that extra step stresses me out.

Do the yeah right , it's also an infringement on privacy and totally unnecessary. Luckily up where l am there have been a few places wanted things l thought well ok , sorry l'll pass. l am vaxed but can;t be bothered getting the whatever . It should be just a card, just a simple card is all that's needed , they use a green card system in Europe , whatever that is, but that's plenty.

rx

I haven't been asked yet for proof I have been vaccinated.I wonder if the double dose wont be valid and you will have to have a booster to keep it valid.Some work places are doing this I think.

I am a bit upset. My son rang to say his 10yr old son tested +ve. My son's family have been going overboard to avoid risk of exposure before their holiday. They kept the 2yr old home from childcare this week to be safe. They'd stayed overnight half way to their destination and this morning Mr10 became unwell tested +ve onRAT so they are now returning home to isolate. My son dropped some things off at our place yesterday. He was only inside briefly and he isn't sick yet but it is difficult to know what this means. My hsb has appointments with health professionals next week. Are we putting them at risk? I don't want to inadvertently pass the virus to them and they then infect a vulnerable client.

Hi Elizabeth CP.

That sounds like a very low risk encounter. & surely, the staff where will ask the usual COVID related questions now so common, when he arrives, & you could explain the brief time your son was there dropping things off, & they can assess the risk - & I am sure they will say it is so minimal they will allow the appointment to proceed. I would expect staff will be wearing masks, Even the Doctors, & other professionals, can be wearing masks, & any other protective gear they deem necessary. If you attend with yor hubby, you can wear a mask - though I'm not sure what difference that would make because you live with him. Even hubby? I'm not sure, not knowing about the conditions he has. If he can, he could, I suppose, unless & until tests require he take off the mask.

All fully vaccinated? All the better if you & hubby are - though we are seeing cracks in this armour. (& that's what makes booster/3rd dose all the more important).

It's encouraging that your son did not have symptoms. He might only have a small viral load, which would make it harder to transmit to others.

All the best,❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

mmMekitty

Don't see how vaccines keep us safe and protected anymore. That is what was said to us all at the beginning of this.

The vaccines still help protect against severe illness but a booster is now needed to help ensure you won't get seriously ill and need hospitalisation.

I got a booster yesterday and feel fine, no side effects at all. I'm relieved to know that after about two weeks I now should not get seriously sick even though I can still catch Omicron; I'm safer than I would be if I was unvaccinated.

Some dodgy messaging for sure shelll. Reminder this thread is safe to vent.

Just booked for booster tomorrow and here in Israel now they do 4 shots? And the az Vax wasn't so helpful against the new variant. Hard to know what helps. I hope I feel OK after the booster

How many more boosters? Is it ever going to end

I seem to think so differently to most people on here. Sometimes it makes me feel so alone.

I just don't agree with things said. And that's ok, isn't it? I don't have to think the same as most people. It's ok to disagree. I am now practicing to voice what is happening within me. Most of my life I have been silent. Too frightened to verbally speak up. But this whole vaccine thing and Cvirus has never sat right with me. It just hasn't. Never have I once been frightened of Covid, but rather very cautious about these vaccines. Something hidden is happening. I can sense it. I wish people would hear me out. I don't want to be silent anymore. There is so much inside of me.

Agree. I am very fed up from feeling neglected and pushed around by the government, so I hear u.

I'm very against ppl lecturing others and making ppl feel bad thinking that makes any difference at all, it's gross how the government judt lectures about vaccines and then it's such a mess anyway to access them.

Gentle hug Sleepy

I think a lot of people are at the end of their tether with everything going on, and I try my best to remember that. Yesterday felt challenging though and I couldn’t sleep, I was so upset after some interactions I had with people around the current situation. There’s so much emotion that perhaps it’s harder to hold space for differing opinions at the moment?

Im sorry if anyone feels silenced. We all matter. We’re all important.

How refreshing to hear your voice Shell :). You are not alone in thinking for yourself. I do the same. The most vocal seem to be unable to think for themselves and parrot what they hear on the news. They push this on others. We are silenced and seem in the minority. But really i think it is just because they non stop talk about covid and then lockdowns and now they non stop talk about vax, and now boosters. Now i try to just let it slide; all that hot air. And ignore them and let them keep singing their tune. It is hard when we are silenced and feel alone. But i think slowly more ppl are waking up. I hope. Critical thinking and freedom to voice our thinking is important. I appreciate you doing so Shell.

Hi Match , and yeah it certainly would have.

lt was pretty obvious to me even 12mths ago that the way they were all stuffing about with building something for quarantining. By the time all the politics and permits and who pays for what and then each state actually building the damn things , they probably wouldn't even be needed anymore anyway and here we are. Actually 12mths ago when they were all arguing my main thought was that what else can they use them for later bc we'll be left with some beautiful brand new basically 1/2 a suburb unto itself alone,that they'll each spend millions on, all empty. So l was actually thinking about the homeless or public housing , hospital beds aged care or something, l don't know.l think the Vic one was finished only a wk ago after all this and exactly as predicted , they aren't even quarantining anymore in Vic now anyway. l'm hoping for the homeless myself , or some kind of shelter.

rx

RX I think the quarantine facilities should have been built much sooner when they could have really helped but I still hope they can be used effectively. I would have liked portable houses/units which could be easily used in an emergency for shelter for victims of disasters such as bushfires etc. When not required for emergency use or quarantine they could assist homeless or victims of DV etc

As for vaccines I chose to get them ASAP because I wanted to reduce the spread of the virus to stop people getting sick filling hospitals and then stopping people getting required non-covid treatment. I am also wanting to reduce the other problems associated with this pandemic including effects on business education etc.

Recently several family members have tested +ve. One caught it from her 11 yr old unvaxed son. The whole family caught it. The mother is imuneocompromised and ends up severely ill every time she gets sick when the rest of the faily is fine. She had the booster and had barely any symptoms in stark contrast to her hsb who was very unwell (He was booked in for the booster the week he fell ill. Another extended family member also in high risk group caught covid but had very mild symptoms for a day as she had the booster. Her hsb still hasn't caught it He had the booster. Their young unvaxxed children are sick. My dtr and her hsb work in health care and have had a number of clients who caught covid and became seriously ill and some died. Most of them before vaccines were available.

I am choosing to follow the medical advice (as opposed to sometimes conflicting advice by politicians & the media) to keep myself and those around me safe. I don't want to cause someone to become seriously ill.

Hi randomx I think that would be a great idea to use them for homeless.We have a huge problem here like it seems to be everywhere now.I know people living in cars with kids out here who house was sold and can't find anywhere else to live due to the housing shortage.It is so sad and heart breaking the stories you hear.I thought of using them maby for covid patients that don't need to be in ICU and taking some of the strain of our hospitals so other people who need hospital treatment can get it.I don't know how practable that would be.We need to use them for something now that we have built them.