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Pain management has come to me in various forms. It’s a pretty special feeling that my 11 years of experience with chronic pain may be useful for learning and inspiring change in the way pain [...]
Their teachers hope that students are beginning to realize that medicine is not black and white, but many shades of grey. The museum sessions are designed to get these students thinking about the importance of a diagnosis that is not just based on physical symptoms, but also on the larger narrative that informs a patient’s health story.
After speaking with Kris Vanston I now know that injured workers do have the Victorian Ombudsman to turn too for unfairness issues within the WorkCover system. I had my doubts about contesting my impairment score of 0% (that was deemed permanent I might add), as I am very well aware and have ranted aplenty about Chronic Pain NOT being acknowledged in the guidelines that are used to assess injured workers. That means there is Australian legislation (I'll rephrase; it is legal) for WorkSafe practitioners to ignore Chronic pain, thus Pudendal Neuralgia. No where within the system will any WorkCover practitioner be able to assess an injured worker's Chronic pain. I'm experiencing the result of this, I've been living this ignorance since March 2007. I wrote a letter that was ignored for a few months by our WorkCover Minister, WorkSafe and SafeWork Australia. The Victorian Ombudsman employee informed me not to use the 'info' email address but rather the 'enquiries' one when I'm writing to WorkSafe. Ridiculous but he was right and I eventually received a response. (Enter sarcasm) I now feel completely healed and completely relieved with the empty response I received. It managed to 'acknowledge', 'agree', 'assure' and confirm all the points relating to this outdated system that I initially made in my letter. I'm also more at ease knowing everyone who assessed me ignored all my symptoms and inabilities and that was legal. I'm also proud of the staff at WorkSafe who are happy to abide by ignorant and narrow-minded measures that would also apply to them in the event they injured themselves at work. Above all, I'm in awe of the WorkSafe staff and all related employees and practitioners who's reports are so loyal and discerning of these out-of-date AMA4 guidelines (with pain chapter removed), and The Accident Compensation Act 1987. This template response clearly indicated to me that anyone with chronic pain and with any of the following symptoms/limitations, as a result of a workplace accident will not get compensation: affected toilet function, spasms where you really don't want them, sensory pain (in my case throughout the pelvis), toothachey nerve pain, weakening legs, burning, zinging, if you have limited sitting ability, if you are limited in walking, standing, working, lifting, bending, exercising, if you have an implant as a result of pain (or even if you need one for that matter), if you rely on daily help, if you can't drive, shop, sit and type this damn email in one hit etc etc...! Well thank you WorkSafe for the 'quality' protection you promise. And Heidi just one question, would this letter have been acceptable for you if you were in my shoes?
