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Horrible emergency room experience

December 10th, 2007 at 04:27 pm

I went to the emergency room with my aunt - she got there at 6:30pm, and we were seen by a doctor at 1am. (She had fractured fumeral neck).
I was appalled on how many people have not been seen yet and were crying and screaming while the staff stood around discussing adjustable rate mortgages and joking around with each other.

It is an emergency room! These people are not there waiting for haircuts!

I was able to get a doctor to see my aunt only by chance - when I heard one of the black doctors speak Chinese to a nurse, I came over and talked to him in Chinese also (and I am not Asian). They started to talk to me - where I'm from, how come I speak it, where do I work... etc. At that point of establishing human contact I was able to get them to look at my aunt. At that point it turned out she was not in the computer and they did not even know she was there! (she was in the computer in the waiting room).

Also recently a friends mother, who has cancer that was blocking the intestant or something like that had trouble passing stool. When it got really bad (her not able to go for few days) her doctor sent her to the emergency room. While she was waiting (for about 9 hours also) it ruptured, and waste went into her blood. She begged and begged for help, yet was ignored by the staff. After they finally got to her, she was rushed from the exam room to the surgery immediately, and they did not expect her to survive. She spend hours in this condition with no help. If they saw her in time, this would not have happened.

I want to know what I can do if me or someone I love is in a situation where emergency care is necessary???
What should we do to get it before condition deteriorates? I need a contingency plan!

Posted in Uncategorized | 9 Comments »

9 Responses to “Horrible emergency room experience”

  1. koppur Says:
    December 10th, 2007 at 04:31 pm 1197304303
    1197304303

    My Goddess, that is horrible!! Is there any other ER you can go to next time? Maybe write a letter to the Board of Directors. I'm so sorry you had to go through all that!

  2. Brooklyn girl Says:
    December 10th, 2007 at 04:36 pm 1197304584
    1197304584

    We went to Cornell - it is one of the best hospitals in NYC.

  3. tiki Says:
    December 10th, 2007 at 08:21 pm 1197318074
    1197318074

    You should contact a journalist--a local newspaper or radio station. This is a story that needs to be told!

    The resulting media hoo-ha could really shake things up over there.

  4. Ima saver Says:
    December 10th, 2007 at 10:01 pm 1197324082
    1197324082

    My gosh, I live in a small town and have never had to wait even one minute when I take my dh to the emergency room!!

  5. Joan.of.the.Arch Says:
    December 10th, 2007 at 10:27 pm 1197325659
    1197325659

    Your aunt waited 19 hours, or was that a typo?

    In the case of the friend's mother, I think maybe a call to her own doctor after waiting so long might have helped. The doctor could have contacted the ER to tell them the urgency he perceived, I suppose. Or the doctor might have met her in the ER. Do doctor's never do that any more? Meet their regular patients at ER?

  6. Amber Says:
    December 10th, 2007 at 10:46 pm 1197326813
    1197326813

    Wait a minute you went in at 6am one day and was seen 1am the next? is that correct? And mortgages was the topic? You have got to be kidding me. I would contact JCAHO asap that is crazy

    I went in once and it was about 6:30pm and was seen about 11:45pm and the MD who saw me was so annoyed with staff he chewed them out right in front of me and I wasn't even complaining

    He thought maybe my appendix had burst thank God that wasn't the case but he let those nurses have it

  7. shiela Says:
    December 11th, 2007 at 12:52 am 1197334344
    1197334344

    That's horrible, sorry you and your aunt had to go through that.

  8. clubneary Says:
    December 11th, 2007 at 03:09 pm 1197385771
    1197385771

    I work in a large health care organization and know that there are procedures set up to allow you to file a grievance. Look for the hospitals Patient Relations Department and complain. I believe if you are not happy with the results of your complaint you can then go to the Department of Health.

    You have every right to complain and they need to hear it. I imagine things do take time in the emergency room but to hear the staff talking about random non-medical issues and basically ignoring patients is something that should not be stood for. Speak up!

  9. Daniela Says:
    May 28th, 2010 at 07:37 am 1275032269
    1275032269

    Maybe if so many people in the ER weren't there for non-emergency purposes or there only because they don't utilize the health care system to take care of themselves before they experience an emergency event then emergency rooms wouldn't be so overloaded. No it's probably not a typo when people say they wait 10-20 hours to be seen. This is common and although terribly frustrating, it's the only way that everyone can be seen thoroughly. Haven't you heard about the rising numbers of emergency room visits? Don't you notice that the only renovations all your local hospitals are doing are focused on expanding their emergency departments? It's not lazy nurses. For your information, your emergency room nurses are VERY hardworking...see if you'd last a day. I feel for everyone who has to suffer through an unpleasant emergency room experience but to fix this you need to make sure that 1) yourself and those around you are taking steps to get the preventative care they need and 2) to vote in a way that you believe may help you get the services you need in healthcare. Sometimes the balance doesn't work in everyone's favor. If you want to have quick and attentive care then maybe that comes at the price of excluding a large portion of your fellow citizens. Think about it.

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