ED overload

It seems that gen Z are too willing to take minor ailments (headaches, cuts, acne...)to the emergency department (ED). (per PAGB research, 22 Jul)

So who are gen Z? People aged 14 to 30, or 25 to 34, depending on who you ask. Let's just say, young people today.

Why do they go to ED?

Perhaps because they do not have a "family doctor".

They may have left home, moved away from "family" Then they get sick. Or something unexpected, are they sick? They have no-one -- no close family -- to ask.

A twenty-year-old gets a cut, it bleeds. Or a headache which lasts all day. Is it serious? How are they expected to know?

At that age even acne, perhaps brought on by increased eating of fast food, perhaps not, is it serious? To a teenager, yes. Is it a sign of a health risk? Perhaps it is.

Where is a doctor to provide advice? Every GP is over-booked -- and said to be expensive.

But there are doctors, real doctors at the ED, go there.

A pharmacist says that TikTok seems to have replaced granny's wisdom, supercilious fool. Granny is on the other side of Australia.

We need a walk-in advice clinic.

Come in, sit down, wait. You're not bleeding, you're still conscious, all limbs attached. The one doctor, a real doctor, will give quick advice. No treatment, no guarantee. If you are not reassured, or if the doctor advises it -- then you move on to the aptly named Emergency department.

Don't blame young people. They may be victims of a changing social structure.

Nick Lethbridge    /    Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting    /   Problems? Solved.
   ===


Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood