When Olga Rogacheva’s two-year-old daughter Lily needed her tonsils and adenoids removed, she was told the wait to have the operation through the public system could be up to 10 years.
The news devastated Ms Rogacheva, who said she felt the public health system was failing her family.
Fearing the impact of a long wait on her daughter’s health and development, the Canberra mother of four decided to have Lily treated through the private system instead.
