Profmed – Absolutely Disgusting Service to an 86-Year-Old Patient

Profmed – Absolutely Disgusting Service to an 86-Year-Old Patient

Profmed, you call yourselves medical professionals, but based on the appalling service I experienced yesterday, I have to question just how professional you really are.

My 86-year-old mother, who has been a member of Profmed for over 50 years, was admitted to Rosebank Clinic yesterday. She suffers from dementia and has fluid on her lungs. At her age and in her condition, the last thing our family should have to worry about is fighting with a medical aid for authorisation when she needs medical attention.

Yet that is exactly what happened.

Profmed refused to provide authorisation until the treating doctor had submitted a treatment plan. While I understand that medical aid schemes have procedures to follow, the way this situation was handled was absolutely unacceptable. We were shunted from pillar to post, with no proper assistance or consideration for the vulnerable elderly patient involved.

I eventually had to lose my temper before anything was done, and only after approximately two hours was authorisation finally granted.

To make matters worse, the doctor had arranged for my mother to have a CT scan. She had seen my mother at approximately 09:30, but we only received authorisation from Profmed after 14:00. As a result, my mother only underwent the scan at 17:00.

How can you justify these delays when dealing with an 86-year-old woman with dementia and fluid on her lungs? Where is the compassion, urgency and patient care that one would expect from a medical aid scheme?

Profmed has been receiving my mother's contributions for over 50 years, yet when she needed assistance, the service we received was nothing short of disgraceful. You are quick enough to collect your members' money, but when it comes to providing timely and efficient service, the experience was appalling.

I am a Discovery member myself and have never experienced anything like this. Yesterday's experience with Profmed left me absolutely disgusted. No family should have to fight for hours to get authorisation for an elderly, vulnerable patient who is already unwell and in hospital.

This is not what I would call a professional medical aid scheme. It is unacceptable that a family should have to spend precious time chasing authorisation instead of being there for their loved one.

**I would never recommend Profmed to anyone based on this experience.** A medical aid scheme should provide peace of mind when its members are most vulnerable, not add unnecessary stress, frustration and delays to an already frightening situation.

Profmed, I sincerely hope you take this complaint seriously and review how this matter was handled. Your members deserve better, and an 86-year-old woman who has supported your scheme for over five decades certainly deserved better than this.

Absolutely appalling service.