Is the ER actually for emergencies these days?

[Nathan Caroland]

So ... my Saturday has sucked. Any work on Wyrd, or even just personal time was sent right out the door when I got in early Friday night, only to get a phone call and I have to rush out and take someone to the emergency room at 11pm at night.

I sat there till almost 6am and they weren't too worried about taking care of business quickly. I dealt with it, kept conversation and looking over everything in general and finally got to bed later that morning for a few hours.

Then its up and get some work done, only to later in the day spar with my oldest for a bit who is in Thai kickboxing. She got a bit aggravated that dad was blocking all of her hits and making fun of her while doing it (part of my personality, dig it) so she decided to get in a good hook and of course .. DAD FTW!

I blocked it solidly on my forearm. I've got a nice deep bruise from it.

Unfortunately, she had what is now commonly known as a Boxers Break. Yeah, horrible dad that I am did some damage when she decided to haul off and get me good. So ... again ... off to the ER, this time with a daughter who I'm trying to keep from crying, etc.

The room is packed, more than a few people in there just because they have a sore throat (don't get me started), and one couple coming in two hours after us and making asses of themselves until their kid is taken back pretty much immediately. They are pulling a bit of a stunt where they aren't entering your registration info until an hour or two AFTER you show up (though they do have a Nurse take your weight and get some general info), but thats so that they can show that their wait times aren't so long. People were leaving and going to other hospitals or just calling it quits. Hell, one girl that was there with a 103.5 fever for four hours had her fever finally break while waiting and mom just said 'eff it' and packed her up.

So ... after five hours, I've had enough and pretty much start a damn riot in the middle of the hospital as the boiling point was coming for a lot of us and a pissing match started with me and the receptionist, then the nurse, then three nurses, then two more orderlies, a security officer and then a doctor. Be damned if the girl wasn't going to be seen immediately at that point. Guess what ... surprise, there was frickin' room back there and I firmly believe we got admited back at that moment because I was the one starting all this and they wanted me out of the middle of a pack of pissed off people.

45 minutes later, we're out of there. Surprise! X-rays, doctors, cast and ... out the door and on our way out the back door (they discharged us out back, not wanting us to go through the folks.

Not happy.

Edited August 30, 2009 by Nathan Caroland

[WEiRD sKeTCH]

Damn!

I'm glad everything worked out in the end.

But yeah, ER's are sometimes an exercise in patience. Some days you go in and you may have one or two people there, others you have the entirety of a full stadium attendance inside.

Again, I'm glad everything's OK. Even if you had to show that you were the Kung Fu Master.

[Larkin Vain]

I remember when my 4 year old daughter fell and hit her head and it was bleeding being in the emergency room as irritated ready to snap that my daughter wasn't being seen first. I kept pacing. The receiving nurse or doctor (I'm not sure) saw her and then we waited and waited. It wasn't till my mom who came by and is a registered nurse assured me that if it was serious they would take her in immediately.

As a dad, anything with my daughter is serious. My mom used to work in an emergency room in her younger days so it was a bit comforting as she played with my daughter trying to get my daughter from worrying because she was seeing her dad all stressed out and scared which led her to be scared. Seeing my daughter scared made me even more stressed which seemed like a cycle I was causing.

After 30 minutes my daughter was seen x-rayed and then released. Me and my wife were had a big sigh of relief that night night forgot about the horrible waiting in the ER and thank God for everything being ok.

Glad everything turned out ok in with your and your family.

[thewartoad]

Same kind of treatment for me on Friday for my 3rd ankle surgery. They told me to be there at approximately 1100 Hrs., to finish paperwork, have them shave my leg, IV etc. surgery set for 1300 Hrs. Well I get all of this done and then sit, sit, sit, sit????? Well 1430 Hrs. shows up and so does my Dr., he had people waiting on him at his office which did not make any sense because Friday's are his surgery days...at least that's what I was told. Then he comes in and says "where have you been, let's get this done" I went the F@#% off...I said I know you are a Dr. but what makes your time any better than mine...because you have the bigger degree...Bull&%$#!!!! So after some talking and getting my thoughts straight we went to the OR and got this done. He has called everyday so far to check up on me. I guess what I'm trying to say just like Nathan did is that you have to stand up for yourself or nothing will ever get done...most people think their time is more important then yours and it's not! We all have busy...busy lives.

[Peterdita]

uhg. That sounds super lame.

[nilus]

Blame the Health care system(especially HMOs and Medicaid). Medicaid and some HMOs won't cover just going to a doctor if you or your kids are sick, but they will cover an emergency room visit. So the kid with a strep throat ends up waiting in the ER(and getting everyone else sick), instead of just going to a normal doctor for some Antibiotics and throat spray. Plus the large number of idiot parents who will take there kids to the ER for a cold or low fever.

So the problem is some people treat the ER like is a drive up clinic, and others are forced to treat it that way because of how there insurance works. All this adds up to people with real injuries waiting longer and longer.

Anyways glad everything worked out and your daugher is okay.

[Jestor]

I have been in more ER's then anyone I know for one reason or another. All I can suggest is find a hospital in the area that uses the "Plain Tree" philosophy. It's amazing what invoking the correct attitude in your employees can do. Things get done faster, with less staff and all your patients get better care

It's also real cool that you get to beat up on your daughter sometimes legally That and that you take an interest in her activities even when you are dead tired

[AoM]

Damn, Nathan, that sucks. You really need to block softer next time.

I hate when I need to go to the emergency room. I've taken someone there with painful tightness in their chest, and had to sit around for more than a few hours, and this was with only 5 people in the waiting area. WTF?!

I hope you don't have to head back that way anytime soon, that's for sure.

[Dr.Mercury]

I feel your pain.

A few months ago my 6 year old vomited some blood, so off to the emergency room we go.

We got there around 1 in the afternoon on Sunday, at 9pm we saw our first doctor, at 1am they transferred us to another hospital with a better pediatric unit, where we spent the next 4 days.

I should have just gone to the second hospital in the first place, and saved 12 hours of my life!

[Isoulle]

That's pretty awful, though it's good you finally got in. In Canada people always talk about how long the waits are for medical care and that it's not like that in the US. It's good to hear that medical service is ridiculously slow everywhere (Well, not good, very bad actually.)

[Breten]

That's triage for you. And having had friends who work in emergency, I'd just like to state that the waiting room isn't the best indicator of how maby people are in there. Up here ambulances have their own entrances, so you never see how many people come in. We also often have alerts where a certain hospital has to send all ambulances to the next as they are full.

When I severed the tendons in my hand, I got to emergency at midnight, saw my first doctor at about 3am, then the accidents arrived, and I didn't get out until 8am. I was back in at 2pm for my surgery and on my way home an hour after that.

Your politicians are feeding you lies about Canadian Healthcare. You only wait months if it's elective surgery, as in not required to live.

[Larkin Vain]

Don't really care what politicians says, but when all my Canadian relatives up in Canada hate the Canadian health care system I give them merit especially when my auntie comes to the US for care constantly.

[mozart]

This is not an uncommon problem anymore unfortunately. ER waits are becoming incredibly long these days. I think part of it is due to people going to the ER when it isn't necessary (such as a head cold) but it doesn't excuse the wait time when the problem is apparent when you do triage.

Good to see that you didn't stand for it. It is ridiculous for us to pay so much for healthcare only to be treated poorly.

[Illustrange]

but as I read it with sore throats and that kind of stuff you go to the ER as well over there ?

here that kind of stuff you take to your doctor, or if necessary the doctor comes to you.

Im pretty sure the ER is for accidents only here (wich probably still makes for some waiting lines, but at least its a bit fairer to wait behind other serious injuries instead of having alot of headache complaints in front of you.)

all turned out alright in the end ?

[mbowsher76]

I am right there with you all. Two years ago my now 9 year old son complained of very bad pain in his lower right side. My wife runs him up to the ER at 3pm....at 3 AM (yes 12 hours later) they finally come home and the ER said he was just constipated. 2 hours later he comes crawling into my bedroom saying it hurts so bad he cannot walk.

At this point I am pissed and when I get to the ER I make it clear that I am not happy. They get my son back into the observation room where he stays for hours. Finally at 3PM the x-rays have been looked at and they diagnose him as having appendicitis and by now it has burst. So what could have been a minor out patient surgery becomes a 6 day hospital stay while they pump him full of anti-biotics. It took them 24 hours to diagnose a pretty common condition with symptoms that should have pointed at least to it as a potential issue right away.

Needless to say, I am still not happy about how that was handled.

[Aproximo]

Hey! Sorry for your trouble but glad she'll be ok. Hope the first trip patient got getter as well. I just left 10 years as hospital staff and ED's are a nightmare. Sometimes legit issues, sometimes government requirements and plenty of times complete BS. leave it to say even while I worked there the ED was absolute last resort for me. It's an exercise in wasted time for many patients.

[nilus]

That's pretty awful, though it's good you finally got in. In Canada people always talk about how long the waits are for medical care and that it's not like that in the US. It's good to hear that medical service is ridiculously slow everywhere (Well, not good, very bad actually.)

Yeah but at least yours is free

[gregdorf]

Yeah but at least yours is free

It is not free, their taxes pay for it.

[Larkin Vain]

Not exactly free. It's paid by employers and high taxes. When I visited Vancouver me and my wife only bought food and souvenirs. Prices are killer. We also filled up gas tanks before crossing the border per my cousin in Canada advice. Oh don't be fooled by stores accepting dollars there as well. They will only accept it on a 1 to 1 ratio instead of the exchange rate which makes things even more expensive.

Also my wife has never had to wait months to see a specialist when she was pregnant while my cousins wife had to. I think long ER waits are common throughout the world.

[EricJ]

See, the trick is to be bleeding profusely! The last time I was in the ER I had blood poring from a gash in my head, and I hardly had to wait at all!

Sorry to hear about this experience though, waiting in the ER has to be one of worst things, I did have one experience where I had a bad arm break (like the bones went off at about a 60 degree angle), and it was about a 10 hour wait before they were able to set the break.

[goblyn13]

Not exactly free. It's paid by employers and high taxes. When I visited Vancouver me and my wife only bought food and souvenirs. Prices are killer. We also filled up gas tanks before crossing the border per my cousin in Canada advice. Oh don't be fooled by stores accepting dollars there as well. They will only accept it on a 1 to 1 ratio instead of the exchange rate which makes things even more expensive.

Also my wife has never had to wait months to see a specialist when she was pregnant while my cousins wife had to. I think long ER waits are common throughout the world.

Canadian dollar has been almost 1 for 1 with the US dollar for some time now:

http://www.xe.com/ucc/convert.cgi?Amount=1&From=USD&To=CAD&x=60&y=15

http://www.x-rates.com/d/CAD/USD/hist2009.html

[Larkin Vain]

When I was up there in May it was worth more. It was worth our time to get it exchanged. I think it was around 118 for 100 US at the time.

Edited August 31, 2009 by Larkin Vain

[nilus]

It is not free, their taxes pay for it.

True, but even accounting for taxes socialized medicine is cheaper then our system. The extras they pay in taxes is still less then all the deductibles, co-pays, and denied claims that we Americans pay. Plus you don't have to pay taxes to get health care so the people who need it most get it. Like the unemployed, the mentally ill and Children.

Sorry I will get off my soap box now.

[Isoulle]

Not exactly free. It's paid by employers and high taxes. When I visited Vancouver me and my wife only bought food and souvenirs. Prices are killer. We also filled up gas tanks before crossing the border per my cousin in Canada advice. Oh don't be fooled by stores accepting dollars there as well. They will only accept it on a 1 to 1 ratio instead of the exchange rate which makes things even more expensive.

Also my wife has never had to wait months to see a specialist when she was pregnant while my cousins wife had to. I think long ER waits are common throughout the world.

Need to get some more recent numbers but the difference between Canadian and American taxes on average is surprisingly small. Though it does depend a lot on state taxes as that fluctuates quite a bit.

Surprised about the price thing. Every time I travel to the US everything costs the same or more than it does in Canada. I'm always very confused. Probably also varies state to state (Seems to be the rule in the USA). Though I must admit gas is much more expensive.

[Breten]

Oh don't be fooled by stores accepting dollars there as well. They will only accept it on a 1 to 1 ratio instead of the exchange rate which makes things even more expensive.

Also my wife has never had to wait months to see a specialist when she was pregnant while my cousins wife had to. I think long ER waits are common throughout the world.

They saw you coming. I have never entered a store in Canada that didn't have the exchange rate posted and gave you exchange for your US dollars. Maybe you went when the dollar was on par, or close to it.

As far as the waits go, I think your hearing stories. I've never heard of anyone waiting months for something like that. Nor have I ever had any issues, considering I almost died in February, and I got fantastic care, see my specialists on a regular basis.

I'm thinking there's more t their stories than they're telling you.

That said, when my girlfriend snapped her ankle, it was 3 days before they could get her into surgery to put the plates and pins in, and she was in the Cancer ward as they were full.

Edited August 31, 2009 by Breten