Nine-hour-wait-in-emerg.-for-five-stitches-in-my-face; needs some serious fucking improvement. Everyone was super fucking cordial however.
—Sam Je
This article appears in Jun 25 – Jul 1, 2009.
ER Wait
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Nine-hour-wait-in-emerg.-for-five-stitches-in-my-face; needs some serious fucking improvement. Everyone was super fucking cordial however.
—Sam Je
This article appears in Jun 25 – Jul 1, 2009.
35 Comments
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do dartmouth gen there is never a long wait
Did you see the state of the art hide-away toilets that hold a max weight of 175 lbs?
LOL what?
Umm, perhaps you waited nine hours for five stitches because it wasn’t an emergency? Perhaps, just perhaps, there were more pressing issues to be tended to before your five stitches. I dunno, I’m just grasping at straws here.
I agree with TBU. There is a priority list in the ER, and I don’t think the doctors and on-duty staff were just sitting around picking their bums while you were suffering with such extreme life threatening pain. Could the waiting time be improved? Possibly, but not with our current resources. Jane D’oh is right too
What they said ^. 9 hours is a looooong wait, but the docs aren’t going to drop everything they are doing to rush to your attention for a minor cut.
They are intending to bring in more paramedics who can do some minor procedures like stitches, but the new emerg just opened, so don’t expect anything to be quick.
Priority list, my festering arsehole – my hub-unit had all the symptoms of a stroke and waited ten hours, another time seven hours for a chainsaw cut that had half his thumb off – then, about a month ago, a co-worker had all the classic heart attack symptoms, he waited nine hours as well – they sent him home, telling him to cut back on his salt and he dropped dead at his front door the next day. Don’t even get me fucking started on this issue.
So, with the exception of the thumb, your examples are more likely to be examples of incompetence. The thumb, as severe as it might seem, is not necessarily life-threatening. My bro once sliced his hand up good and was 3 days before the surgery to reattach the tendons. He’s got full mobility again. We were freaked out, of course, but he turned out OK.
But I know the health care system has failed you and your’s numerous times TTFN, so I understand your ire. I’m still idealistic though. I don’t want to give up on the system yet.
Since my hub-unit became disabled, we’ve been to the emergency room over a dozen times in the last year – there was never less than a seven hour wait. I wish I could have your idealism, Miles, but I’ve lived to long to see the brutal reality.
Actually the last time I was in the emergency, I had inhaled some chlorine gas, and I was in and through to a doc within 30 minutes. I guarantee there’s times where there are more pressing matters. Also, in all honesty, we’re lucky to have a system where we just show up and we get repaired. In the States, you’d end up waiting 9 hours to get your HMO to clear the paperwork to get the stitches paid for.
Were you drunk? They don’t treat drunks fast.
106 year old nuns take priority – no shit.
This past year my grandmother waited twice for over 12 hours after having a stroke. It’s bullshit. I think a stroke holds priority over some punk who got drunk on the weekend. Don’t get my family (or me) started on wait times at the QE2 and especially don’t get me started on the Cobequid Centre. It’s a glorified bandaid station. Useless…you wait there for 8 hours only for them to tell you what you already know to be shoved off at closing time to the QE2 where you can expect another long wait. BULLSHIT!!!!!
They did the night I was there. I saw several people get in way ahead of my grandmother, who at that time was still on a stretcher. Then I watched them walk out. Now I do understand a thing or 2 about triage, but watching someone walk out unassisted probably means that they didn’t have a major injury.
I don’t want to seem like I’m totally razzing on the staff. They were wonderful once she received a bed and the paramedics are great as well. It’s just between the time of the incident to the time of being admitted to a bed in the ER is WAY too long.
Call an ambulance 😀
That’s how my mom’s ever gotten in ASAP. She had unexplained seizures and we couldn’t get her to wake up so we had to call an ambulance and were in immediately. The time she had amnesia (like real life amnesia — couldn’t remember anything) we were in quite quickly. Although we had to wait 4 hours for the MRI results.
As well, they treat psych cases asap too. Like, go in having a panic attack and you’ll get in right away. I had a panic attack last summer that lasted for 4 hours and ended up in the ER and they took me in right away. Whenever I injure myself I have panic attacks so I guess that’d probably get me in right away, heh. I had a pretty nasty one when I flew off that treadmill a few weeks back and broke my ass.
Thankfully I’ve never had to use the ER here in Hfx other than that one time, but I know it’s not much better in other areas either. In the case of rural ERs there aren’t enough family docs and there are virtually no walk in clinics so people flock to the ER for every little sneeze and bump on the knee.
I WILL say though, they are EXCELLENT at prioritizing in rural ERs. I’ve only ever gone in for things like pneumonia, possible ketoacidosis or a busted ankle and I was seen almost immediately in all cases.
The cobequid centre has always been bullshit when it comes to wait times. This new centre was supposed to improve all that shit…has it? NO. I can still remember being 5 and waiting 7 hours to get stitches when I split my knee wide open. I swear I could see the fucking knee cap. And whenever my mom brought me in when I was sick they’d pretty much tell her “yah she’s sick. um…give her lots to drink, ok buh bye.” Finally, mom just said it was a waste of time taking me there and we never bothered. Until a cat bit through my hand…there was ONE other person in the waiting room and we STILL had to wait 4 hours to get to see a doctor. Like WTF?
Last time my dad went there to have an x ray and blood work there were 110 people ahead of him in the blood collection line. They said something about their new system fucking up but…srsly 110? Fuck you.
I must be lucky. I think I’ve personally used the ER twice in my life.
First time I cut my thumb while cutting some drywall. I went to my doctor who told me to go to emerg because he couldn’t suture in his office (methinks that’s one of the problems). I think I was in and out within an hour or two.
Second time was my back on a Sunday and nothing was open (or I would have gone elsewhere) and again maybe a couple of hours.
As for other family members, I think the longest wait was four hours.
Unfortunately there is only a finite number of medical staff and if everyone and their dog shows up, then waiting will occur. Sometimes, in some medical problems a wait is a good thing. I’m pretty sure they’re not back there going “Who are we going to screw with now”.
Isn’t giving stitches like doctorhood-101? Why wouldn’t a family doctor be prepared to deal with cuts requiring some stitches? There seems something terribly wrong here
this is fucked up!!!! my dad waited 8 hours in emerg with a fucking brain aneurysm (ps- 1/3 of brain aneuryms render people DEAD, 1/3 become mentally retarded and 1/3 are fine… my dad is fine fyi) -… I got a concussion skiing once- major fucking drama- 9 hours in emerg in the middle of the night!?. OP i hope u don’t have a scar…. if they dont get stitches in fast enough u get a lovely little scar to remind you of how shitty out healthcare is 🙂
It’s free. Stop your bitching… I’d like to see what constituted an emergency if they starting charging all the idiots who show up with a fucking headache or stomach ache.
Free? Not when I look at how much I’m payig in taxes, plus the need to buy medical insurance.
But I do agree that there are people who abuse the system.
Medical care in canada certainly isn’t “free” kthx.
And Bro Tim’s right — some of us pay out the ass for medical insurance because our “free” healthcare doesn’t cover the shit we need to stay alive.
I don’t pay a lot/year anymore for my drugs, but if I had to pay full price I’d be looking at up to $5k. Wouldn’t exactly call that “free” healthcare.
We ALL pay for our healthcare — therefore we ALL deserve decent care.
What gets me though are the people who DO abuse the healthcare system — the ones who’ll go to the ER or their doc for a stomach ache or a cold. I really don’t get that — spend as much time as I do seeing doctors and it’ll pretty much take excessive bleeding and/or the bubonic plague to get you into see a doc. Frig I hate going to doctors.
No matter how many people are in waiting, there is NEVER a reason to have people spend more than a half hour IN A WAITING ROOM. If a person has to wait for hours upon hours, there should be the option to wait at home. I would imagine most people do not need to be on-site ‘just in case’, so most people would take the opportunity to wait at home or anywhere else.
Use the internet or phone for notifying people of when they will be seen. For the odd cases where the person has neither…ever been to one of those restaurants that give people buzzing, pager-type things to call you when tables are ready? Use those.
To all of the posters who related stories of long waits…did the ER staff give you any advance warning of how long the waits might be? Could you have left and come back later?
The problem is they don’t know when you will be seen. You are not making an appointment there, you are being triaged. You could be next on the list and then something more sever walks/get’s driven in, and you are bumped back down on the list. They wouldn’t be able to say, come back as such and such a time and if they wait until there’s an opening to page you, they will be sitting on their thumbs waiting for you to show up.
I do agree though that there is no excuse for multiple hour waits…but the only real solution is fewer patients or more doctor’s and hospital beds.
I must come from a land where milk and honey run in the rivers because I’ll tell ya… I lived in Calgary AB where many neighborhoods sport a mall and in that mall you’ll find a professional centre and in that professional centre you will find doctors, dentists, chiropractors, eye doctors, physio outfits, an xray facility and a blood lab. In a mall! In the plaza down the street! They seem to work together to share resources like reception, computer networks, the pharmacy and anything else common from one medical professional to the next. In Calgary AB a day-time injury will induce thoughts of going to the walk-in, not the ER.
Yeah I can see the bitching now. Things slow down in the ER, they call you and as you arrive, a vehicle accident, heart attach, etc come in and once again you’re waiting and they send you home.
No matter what system they use, people will bitch. I’m just glad if I need it, really need it, it will be there.
I think I’ve seen my doctor twicw in the last three years and only because she pretty well ordered me there for my annual (+40) tests.
The only way to get pronto action is to be Jimmy Melvin – he has frequent attendance points
Bathroom surgery is always an option… Surely you took home-ec… Suturing a thumb, replacing a button, same basic concept.
Or you could be an MP’s/MLA/Premier’s kid, Basil.
Wasn’t there some kid of a politician who had surgery and ended up staying in the hospital for a week when anyone else who has that surgery gets the boot the second they wake up? I vaguely remember this, but I can’t recall exact details. Hmm.
First time posting here. In response to Kay, there are Walk In clinics in Metro. I have used them and they are much more efficient for non-emergency situations than ER.
Most are open until 9pm, click link below for more info.
http://www.thefamilyfocus.ca
Yeah, but is it in the MALL? This place is such a backwater. *eye roll*
A lot of the problem with getting results back from MRI’s and XRAY’s and such is that the doctors aren’t just in Emergency all day. They are running back and forth from emerg, surgery, clinic and their admitted patients. So if they send you for an xray, and the doc has all 4 of those things to attend to, you’re gonna wait a long while before he gets back to emerg to check the results.
Five stitches? Pffft! I once cut my femoral artery, had to pinch it till the ambulance came. Nearly bled out. No wait for me!
If your “emergency” can wait in triage for 5 hours, it’s not an emergency. Go to a walk-in clinic. You give your name, your health card number, and sit your ass down for 1 hour, max. Better yet, call ahead, say you’re coming, and get in sooner. If everyone went to the clinics, there’d be less wait for real emergencies.
And knee pain, hangnails and sniffles are NOT emergencies. Just sayin’.
And Miles, I love your posts.