Page 33 - RFDS TASMANIA - Senior Health Studies presentation _ Final Version v4_Neat
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Mary’s Story
Mary has five children, four of them under the age of 7.
Mary’s 10 year old daughter requires urgent dental attention having had a toothache
on and off for three months.
Mary calls the nearest public clinic for an appointment but is insistent on a particular
time of day for the appointment.
None are available and Mary’s daughter cannot attend.
When a worker at the Community Health Centre made enquiries some time later
Mary explained that she needed an appointment at that particular time as she would
have to take public transport with 4 children, including 3 pre-schoolers, into the
nearest town that had a clinic.
Once there she would have a small window of opportunity to attend the
appointment to enable her to catch the return bus, otherwise she would have to
remain in town until 5pm, a daunting and unnecessary burden for Mary.
When an appointment was eventually made, Mary’s 10 year old had 3 teeth
extracted at the one sitting to alleviate the necessity of having to attend the clinic
multiple times.
Because of the issue of transport, Mary’s 10 year old had to undergo a level of
procedure and intervention that normally wouldn’t be deemed appropriate.
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