Brian Sinclair, 45 – PART TWO – This Should Never Have Happened

Following my earlier post about Brian Sinclair… one of the readers wrote the following response. It certainly brought memories for this one as well.

This person is from Peterborough and the PRHC is their hospital.

I can relate to today's Blog. On one of my recent trips to the ER of our new hospital. My daughter and I waited in the waiting room for many hours after reporting to the triage desk. Several times my daughter went to the triage desk to see if we had missed hearing my name called. This was certainly possible because, with that many people waiting, there is usually a high volume of conversation noise, and sometimes you find yourself engaged in conversation with someone else.

After many hours of waiting, and many trips to the washroom to relieve myself of the bladder pressure and the mostly blood that my bladder was complaining about, one of the nurses called out a list of names, and just before leading this group in to the examining area, she looked at me and asked my name. She then riffed through the pages on her clipboard and said, "You must nave not heard your name called; you were called hours ago. Come now with this group." When I got into the examining room, I explained to the nurse there that I was told that I had missed hearing my name called. She replied, "Your name was never called. They misplaced your file in the triage unit."

I could just as easily have died in the ER waiting room, as did the poor man in Winnipeg, had my condition been as grave as his.

On another occasion I was told by my urologist, when my daughter phoned him to report that I still had severe bleeding after being allowed to return home an hour or so after having had a cystoscopic bladder examination, to go up to Emerge and to phone him as soon as we arrived. She did, and he said "just tell the triage nurse that I'm expecting you and I will meet you in the examination area now." We told the triage nurse what he had said, and she said, "That makes absolutely no difference! There are at least 45 people waiting ahead of you, and you won't be going anywhere until every one of them goes in." So we waited “x” number of hours before we finally gained entrance to the examination area. I guess I would have to say that I'm not all that impressed with our new PRHC as far as its Emergency Room procedures are concerned.

Anyway, that's my rant for today. :-)

Have a great day.
Yous truly...
~ "Been There Done That" ~

~ Murray Lincoln ~

Sources…
http://winnipeg.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20080923/wpg_brian_sinclair_erdeath_092308/20080923/?hub=WinnipegHome

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080924.whomeless0924/BNStory/National/home?cid=al_gam_mostview