Healthcare is just so fantastic in this city. My boyfriend was admitted by ambulance due to multiple bad falls with a pre-existing back condition. He had pain through his spine, the back of his neck, and the side of his head. He also had excruciating chest pain.
He was admitted, seen by nurses and doctors, but NOT examined. Not one medical practitioner laid a finger on him to examine him for anything after admission. I don’t know if I’ve been brought up to expect too much, but to my knowledge, if someone has pre-existing spinal injury and fell on his back twice, shouldn’t that be examined? What about possible concussions? Shouldn’t those be taken into consideration as well? Not to mention intense chest pains. At least check for bruising or if he’s having a heart attack!
But no. And guess what? The treatment given to him was a massive drug overdose. 1 Ativan, 3 Tylenol, 5 mg of morphine, 1 Valium and 3 Advil. In the span of ONE HOUR. Yes, he was in pain, but it didn’t seem like anyone was at all interested in getting to the bottom of it. He was just drugged up and sent home, after an hour of puking because of the all the drugs.
It’s been a full day. He has been in pain all day, and still puking from the drugs. I would bring him back to the hospital, but what’s the point? They have no interest in curing him. It’s all about the drugs, and discharging patients as soon as possible.
—So Glad We’re Moving
This article appears in Jan 7-13, 2010.
Take him Back and demand they check him This has happened to me also and I would keep going back until I was checked and guess what I has a heart attack take him back they will get sick of seeing you
If he has a pre-exisitng condition take him to THAT doctor for the best quality care. The ER see’s (it’s not simple drug seeking behavior) the guy’s not gonna die, dopes him up to stop YOUR bitchin’ then ships him out BREATHING in case somebody out there stops. Say thank you they didn’t give you a bill for wasting their time and a bed with a non-emergency. Back to physio with ya.
Massive drug overdoes? With that small amount of dope- I wouldn’t even get a buzz off that . Go see another doctor and not at the emergency ward – make an appointment with a doctor and get his ass checked out by someone that has the time . Massive drug overdose – – sound like a cheap buzz for most people !!!
Ativan and Valium? That makes no sense. Did he NEED to be tranq’d up? Was he that distressed that he really needed two benzos to calm him down? On top of that, if he did fall and sustain a concussion, wouldn’t giving him two drugs that are known to knock people the fuck out be a BAD idea? Wouldn’t they want said potential-concussion-sufferer to stay awake?
Sadly, I think Davis is right — the ER these days has become a place where all they do is make sure you’ll live and that’s pretty much it. It’s up to you to go back to your family doc (or a walk-in clinic physician) to order x rays/send a referral for an MRI and examine your BF. My mom’s been taken in by ambulance a couple times because of grand mal seizures and they basically gave her an MRI/CT scan to make sure her brain wasn’t fried and sent her on her merry way. For any REAL treatment, she had to wait to see her neurologist. They pretty much only made sure she wasn’t going to die, and sent her home (though they did admit the second time they would’ve admitted her if they had a bed available, which is a whole bitch in itself).
Well, the obvious solution is to get stabbed/shot while in a skivvy part of the city and refuse to co-operate with the police – straight to the front of the line and the best of medical attention instead of bleed out somewhere else, filth.
not unless you go to the one guy in sprytown.
“Yes, he was in pain, but it didn’t seem like anyone was at all interested in getting to the bottom of it.”
He FELL you fucking moron.
Jesus Christ!
Yeah right, Basil! I was in the emergency one night with my friend who had sprained her ankle. We arrived, got treated and left while a man who had been stabbed in the back and got there before us was still waiting to be seen. While we were waiting, he went up to ask how much longer it would be (he had already waited 3 hours apparently), and the nurse yelled at him to wait his turn. Regardless of why he got stabbed, I felt his treatment by the staff was unethical.
Actually, Pretty Kitty, Benzos are a very good and well accepted treatment for chronic back pain as they have intrinsic muscle relaxing properties. In many cases, people with chronic back pain and muscle spasm find a benzo is very helpful.
Unless this patient is a 90 year old, they most certainly would not be “knocked the fuck out” unless given in very high doses.
It sounds like the GF could use some benzo’s as well. Relax! Your obsessing and hyper-anxiety over things is probably making your BF worse. Let him chill out, keep him on the couch. Give him some ice for his back and get him in to see a physio. He doesnt sound like he needs an ambulance to the ER if he has a prexisting back problem and has fallen and exacerbated it. This seems pretty straight forward family doctor type stuff.
I think that everyone who sits on their ass in front of their computer complaining about the healthcare system should have to work a night in the ER before they post their complaints. It should also be a Friday or Saturday so they can experience the full 3 ring circus of it all. The, THEN they might be in a position to offer some insight on what the problems are, how they could be addressed,etc. Until then, STFU. Your partner was seen by a number of healthcare professionals (as you indicated in your post) and they all came to the same conclusion that he required some pain medication. If you are so convinced that they are all wrong and you are right, take him to a walk in clinic or a family doctor for a second opinion instead of writing about it on the Coast Bitch site where nary a doctor frequents.
And I appreciate peoples frustration with the ER, but keep in mind what the acronym stands for people! Emergency room! If you have a long standing, chronic medical condition such as low back pain – dont go to the ER and expect that is going to be fully sorted out in your visit! It just isnt the mandate of that department.
If your 200 year old great granny is weak and dizzy for 2 years, dont bring her to the ER on a Friday night and expect her to be sorted out in an expedient manner. They have important, pressing things to do there! I.e. actual emergencies.
Sadly, many people cannot/do not see family doctors and just want their health care to be like McDonald’s. Something they can drive thru and get while they wait in the car. And the see the ER as the Golden Arches…..
Completely Agree westcoastkid.
Moving eh?
Maybe the OP and her boyfriend will move to the US and receive better health care there lol.
If the doctor spent all his time on your requests, someone else would be on here bitching about how their loved-one was mis-treated and neglected. The ER is a place for people who are in life-threatening situations that need immediate attention. You were right to call 9-1-1 because you were worried, but don’t assume that your boyfriend being in pain is the most important issue in the city right now. Read the actual news at all? Hospitals have always been over-crowded. Take him to a specialist and don’t waste resources…does anyone think of anyone else these days?
Nova Scotia’s health care system is double-boned – long waits for specialists mean another long wait for tests – then 18-24 months to get the follow-up by which time the fucking cocksucking specialist hasn’t got a clue what’s going on and therefore orders more tests that take 8-12 months and the cycle goes on and on and…well, you get the point. I have lived this goddamn nightmare with my Hub-Unit for nearly five fucking years without any resolution. As other posters have said, you pretty much have to be on death’s welcome mat before they give a sweet shit.
westcoastkid, the problem with your advice is that people going to the ER aren’t doctors. We don’t know what could potentially be a life-threatening injury, as opposed to an ailment treatable by a regular doctor. Any change in a chronic condition *could* be an emergency. This OP mentioned chest pains, and as a medically uneducated member of the public, one would assume this would be an emergency. Massive chest pains, falling on the head, etc., seem to be reasonable injuries to take to the ER. Anecdotally, my cousin is now paralyzed due to an injury to her back that she didn’t get looked at by a medical professional. She was walking at the time of injury, but because of her decision not to go to the ER, her broken back got worse, and paralyzed her.
Sarey…it’s fine to go to the ER if you think you have to…better safe than sorry…but when you get there and have to wait, and wait and wait, that’s because it’s not actually an emergency. The OP’s BF when in complaining of pain and he got treated for pain. If the docs thought more treatment was indicated, they probably would have administered it.
Whole bunch of bitches up in this bitch.
Someone call Whine 1 1 & have the WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAbulance sent ASAP!
TTFN, I truly sympathize with your situation, but do you really think the specialists are cocksuckers and idiots? It’s more likely that your husband’s problems just aren’t related to their speciality. If the problem is pain…well that can have a lot of causes that just aren’t well understood to begin with. The problem, as you pointed out, is wait times…not really the fault of the doctors but the poorly managed and underfunded health care system. Also, if pain is the main complaint (which I think you said previously that it was), that probably only makes long waits even longer as pain is typically not life-threatening and it would bump him lower on the priority lists for getting treatment. In many cases the doctors frustrated with the system too. That said…some doctors are heartless cocksuckers too…but in my experience most hate the way things run too.
Anyway…I hope things work out for you and your husband soon. 5 years is an unacceptably long time to go without getting answers.
WCK: My mom was prescribed ativan for her seizures, actually (1mg, which is a moderate dose), and she’d have to take it before bed because it would knock her right out.
And I did not know this about back pain. Heh, maybe it’d help my searing upper right gall-bladder-related back pain…because it doesn’t look like an appointment with a surgeon, let alone surgery to get the sucker out is happening any time soon *sigh*
The specialists I have dealt with were cold, clinical pricks who would make a fucking ice block look toasty. The pain was one thing but Hub-Unit’s inability to walk was the major reason why we were referred.
Well TTFN, as you can see on this list apparently HRM is only short 2 specialists and neither would likely be of any use to your hub-unit:
http://www.healthteamnovascotia.ca/physici…
Wait lists do not seem to equal job opportunities…