Dr Chris Higgins demands appology

[*kazumi*]

Am I the only one who expects that when I go to see my doctor I will not come home with new disease?  I would hope doctor should not spread common cold, flu and definitely not COVID19.  This guy saw 70 patients, and who knows where else he went in the week before he was diagnosed. 

[davewil1964]

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@*kazumi* wrote:

Am I the only one who expects that when I go to see my doctor I will not come home with new disease?  I would hope doctor should not spread common cold, flu and definitely not COVID19.  This guy saw 70 patients, and who knows where else he went in the week before he was diagnosed. 

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His patients seem to be of the opinion that he's being scapegoated. Of course, the uninformed public would know better.

The fact that he followed all procedures CURRENT AT THE TIME is irrelevant in the court of public opinion and government soundbites.

If it was weeks between infection and diagnosis, he would have already been through the 'infectious' period and well out the other side.

[davidc4430]

as usual an under pressure pollie will go off half cooked in order to look like they have a point only to end up looking dumb

i said cooked as i'm sure had i used **bleep** it would bet removed

[davidc4430]

and i was right

[*kazumi*]

Were you?  The health minister is the one who introduced the protocol, and it is up to the doctors to keep up with what is changing.  I mean, not everyone with mild sniffles gets automatically tested, he must have known there is a chance of being infected and must have requested the test.  Only people who have good reason to believe they could be infected are tested, but those coming from places with the infection like California, are and they are advised to self quarantine until they get the test result.  My doctor has this printed out and plastered all over the waiting room.  The 1st line actually reads "If you suspect you have COVID19, DO NOT come to the surgery or hospital, CALL for instructions".  It was some 3 weeks ago the 1st time I saw these instructions there.

[springyzone]

I think it is a hard call.

Apparently the doctor didn't think he fit the criteria for testing. He wasn't all that sick, just thought he had a bit of a cold.

“I had a mild cold when I returned from the USA last Saturday morning which had almost resolved itself by Monday morning, hence my decision to return to work.

This is the thing. We expect people to soldier on if they are only mildly ill. I know when i was teaching, the principal told us this outright at a staff meeting. Very ill, fair enough, take a day off. Not quite the full 100%, you're expected to be there and work through it or you're letting your fellow workers down. (in a lot of schools, classes of absentee teachers might get split, making more work for the other teachers).

I imagine similar applies to medical staff & will apply a lot more if our emergency services get swamped, which may happen at some point.

One thing that i noticed in a report is that a Sydney school is reopening today after student tested positive. Now, that school has only been shut a matter of days. Certainly not 2 weeks.

So, the infected student was no doubt in contact with dozens of staff and students there before being diagnosed. Those students may yet come down with the virus, but unless they display definite symptoms, they won't be quarantined in any way or stopped from mixing.

I think in the case of the doctor, he just wasn't showing definite enough symptoms to ring any alarm bells. A mild cold only.

I suppose this is good news in one way as it shows that even if anyone gets the virus, it is not necessarily going to make them severely ill.

[lyhargr_0]

I don't think it was a hard call at all. He would be well versed in the Coronaviris symptoms ( well, should have been ). So common sense would be to have had himself tested, so he could rule it in or out BEFORE  going near any of his patients. By doing it the way he did, if any of his patients catch this virus, he has left himself wide open to a legal case.

[davidc4430]

so you think every doctor and nurse and health care worker who might have a temperture should get the test and stay home until they get the all clear

that will prolly overnite cause a massive shortage of doctors, nurses and healthcare workers

they are mostly over worked people, allways working when not feeling 100%

[lyhargr_0]

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@davidc4430 wrote:

so you think every doctor and nurse and health care worker who might have a temperture should get the test and stay home until they get the all clear

that will prolly overnite cause a massive shortage of doctors, nurses and healthcare workers

they are mostly over worked people, allways working when not feeling 100%

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When there is a virus such as this one going around, yes, I do

If you feel safe with them snifflin' n' snufflin' all lover ya, that's fine. I don't

[supermussolinibros]

in david's case it's the side and not the principle - can you imagine if say tony abbot had a doctor son and did the same - can you imagine the outrage from him, and the endless threads, and the endless RAGE