Tag Archives: ER

I had another particularly busy night at work last night, and was subjected to a fair amount of abuse and aggressiveness.I do understand that when people bring themselves or their loved ones to an Emergency Department, that they are concerned and worried, and wish to be seen and “fixed” as soon as possible.
But there are degrees of urgency, and people need to understand that the professionals that assess their condition at Triage are qualified to tell whether your presenting problem warrants urgent review, or is something that can wait, even if you might feel that your problem is much more urgent.

People need to understand that what they see in the waiting room of an ER is not the real picture of what is going on, there is a separate ambulance entrance through which mainly the more urgent and sicker patients get brought in, and those in the waiting area don’t see that.
I wish that the next time you bring yourself or a family member to an Emergency Room with say, a fever, earache, or constipation, for which you have not seen the GP for at all, or taken any painkillers or fever medicine, that you consider what the doctor that eventually comes to see you has done just before they picked up your chart and ID stickers.
They could have, for example, just

-told a family gathering that their loved one has just passed away
-sent a critically ill patient off to Intensive Care after spending hours trying to stabilize them and save their life
-told a woman who was pregnant through IvF that she has lost her baby
-put a child with really bad asthma under a nebuliser mask, and need to go back urgently to check on them
-told a cancer patient that their disease is progressing and has now invaded their liver and lungs
-recommended a mentally ill patient to involuntary psychiatric care

Have patience, patients.Medical professionals do the best they can to see you and your loved ones as soon as they can.But we need you to trust us when we make decisions as to who can wait for how long until being seen, and we need you to know that everyone involved in Emergency Care is doing the best they can.The doctors, nurses and ward clerks are not the ones you should complain to, or yell at, or threaten with violence, when you face extended waiting times in Hospital ER’s.Write a letter to your local member, or the Health Minister, and inform them of the waiting times, or any shortcomings you came across, say with access to Inpatient beds, but don’t let your frustrations out on the people who are trying their best day in and out to give you the best possible medical care within the confines of the system we all have to operate in.