Those who know me well will confirm that my sense of humour can be somewhat quirky. I have always used humour as a panacea to counteract the ugly, the awful, the unthinkable. This week has been one to remember. I could say for all the wrong reasons. Or I could say that I have gathered more knowledge in this week that will assist me in my future endeavours.
Jan described me as a terrier this afternoon. That I will continue to pursue the good fight even in the face of difficult circumstances. I would like to think I might be a Jack Russell terrier in disguise. Because Jack Russell terriers tend to be pretty talented at sniffing out RATs. Imagine my surprise when today I discovered there was a RAT Division within the Health Department of Australia!
Last night, I penned a complaint to the Health Department regarding our inability to obtain our concessional Rapid Antigen Tests, due to 'the record" stating we had already received five of these tests. The Banksia Grove pharmacist believed there was a scam in operation. I had no reason to question her view. Until I dug deeper...
Since I had not even received an acknowledgement of my complaint to the Health Department, I decided to ring the switchboard again. The same young man answered. I reiterated my desire to have "the record" corrected, so I could legitimately receive our RATs. Then he confessed there was no scam, just a programme foul-up. The programme would apparently "roll over" on 1 March. He could not say if the "glitch" would disappear with the "roll over".
I was calm. I worked very hard not to lose the plot. I asked to speak to his supervisor. He protested that his supervisor would say exactly the same as he had. Fine, I responded, I will have another person who knows my story. I added I would keep asking to speak to the next rank up until the entire Health Department was aware of my situation.
Then I uttered that phrase that brought progress. "If I don't have resolution to my problem, I will go to the media"...
Within five minutes, I was speaking to Agent 99 from the RAT Division of the Health Department. I kid you not. She had me in the palm of her hand by showing me understanding and empathy as well as assuring me she would get to the bottom of this problem and phone me either this afternoon or Monday. She gave me her word. I would like to think she was one of the Good Guys and I live in hope.
I hope she can deliver. This process has been a catastrophe from start to finish. We can't be the only ones affected by this programming mistake or error. And what really annoys me is that there was no pathway to solve this problem, no accountability, no regret. I spent over ten hours on the phone chasing ghosts who did not want to be found. I had to up the ante in order to speak to somebody who sounded like she knows what she is doing. That I had to resort to those tactics was not what I wished to do.
I will follow through if I don't receive satisfaction. I would prefer not to. When will our politicians and departments recognise they are here to assist constituents, rather than obstruct us? Think about that question as we prepare to vote in the upcoming election.
Stay tuned for the next exciting instalment...
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