Why can't people just be sick at home!? (RANT!)

Any ED I have ever been in was a fun house...or horror show...It is all about your perspective...Luckily for the ED staff they see them come and go fast....The rest of us are stuck with them for days...weeks...and sometimes months.....In LTC it's years......Rant and vent all you like-that's what we are here for....

It's not the people who don't have a doctor coming in for healthcare that bother. Those people have nowhere else to access healthcare, and if we have and alternative, say free clinic or something you can't just send them there due to EMTALA.

No the ones that bother me are the ones that have a primary MD but couldn't be inconvenienced by the doctor's hours or scheduling practices.

"Dr Jones said he couldn't see me till 1:30 today (it's now 11:30) so I came here. How long is the wait because I have somewhere to be later."

I feel like saying, "Lady, you'd have made out alot better with Dr Jones cause you'll be lucky if we take you back by 1:30."

or the ones who bring their kids in after they've been sick for >1 wk - and then come in two more times for checkups - and return one last time w/ their cousin as well so we can write them school notes..... gotta love it...

I suppose top of my list is the attention seeker and the Drama Mamma. The attention seeker who comes in with the worst explanation of abdo pain - its 10/10 - no tenderness or rather the Ouch comes as a time delay after the prod - NO physiological signs of pain - joking and laughing and moving with ease and then becomes abuse if they are not seen within 30 seconds of presentation and why haven't you got me a glass of water and while you are there I want something to eat and what do you mean by "nil by mouth"???

Or the ultimate time waster - the person who pretends to take panadol just to make another person feel bad or to use suicide threats as blackmail.

Then there are the "Drama Mamma's" don't speak English except when they want some water etc - moan and groan and yet are non-compliant - "No No No Nurse No pills - choke my throat" Well then - an injection "No no no Nurse - too sore - no like" What can you say? "Sorry but my magic wand broke and we are now all out of options"

Yes, I know what many of you are feeling when you say there are those that abuse the emergency rooms. I was an admitting clerk for an ER for three years, and was on the "front lines" when they rushed in the door with every symptom and story imaginable.

However, I don't think we can completely know what these people must face.

1st - they do not have near the medical training that many of us do. When a mother, well educated in a non-healthcare field and employed with wonderful insurance, comes rushing in the ER because her 2 year old child has flu-like symptoms, (this after hearing of 11 children dying in the US from the flu so far this year) I think we need to be more understanding. Why should we expect them to know they should give the child tylenol and plenty of fluids? I can imagine they're there because the mother fears the child's problems may be worse than she thinks. Or perhaps she's unable to provide relief on her own and reaches out to those at the ER for help.

2nd - My husband is an active duty Marine. In one of our previous duty stations (late 90's), we were in the middle of the Champus/Tricare change over. Our region was the last to get "fixed". During our two years in our remote duty station, 10 of the 11 staff members were in collections because their medical bills were not getting paid by Tricare. Families were following Tricare's directions (training was provided for the families, and 11 Congressmen were involved by the time it was finally fixed) After several months of this confusion, NOT ONE SINGLE doctor would take our military insurance. They were as frustrated as us, because they weren't getting paid for their work. Our families had no choice but to go to the ER.... even if it was for monthly cramps or a splinter.

More than I blame the people going to the ER for the simplest of problems, I blame our goverment. It's incredible that people living in the richest and most prosperous nation in the entire world.... and in the entire history of the world.... cannot not have easier access to health care. I can't understand why it's so unobtainable for so many. We have so many resources to fix this problem. It's a shame.

I think that those who have posted "the other side of the coin" are not the abusers of the system that the ER nurses are talking about but I think you are the ones who would go in with a broken leg and appologise for taking up time. You are the good guys - rest easy - this is not about you. Nor about any genuine case that comes in - and the mother worried to death about her child and who does not have the background to realise that it is not serious is not one of the time wasters. Niether is the person in real distress or the recent immigrant ( two weeks ago) from Africa who had an unknown community aquired pneumonia coughed right into my face without covering her mouth (TB anyone?) but who ended up being admitted NONE of these are time wasters but the one seeking panadol/tylenol for a hangover or the person on the phone wanting to talk to a doctor because the condom broke or the guy who rang up wanting to know what would happen if you tied a rubber band around your testicles............................

LOL

Oh my gosh! THAT would be too funny!!!!

True, Gwenyth.

Very true. Guess it did hit a nerve, as others have said... because many of us have been there, and felt badly because of it, even wondered wht these nurses thought of us at the time. But you are so right... we DID feel bad/guilty, and we WERE appreciative of the help we received, nor were we ever "demanding".

I DO understand the frustrations these ER nurses must feel and how overwhelmed they are... would not, COULD not be in their shoes... no way. More power to them, and yes, I'm glad they have a place to come to to let off some steam !

Finally, someone said the magic word, EMTALA!! The root of all our problems. The ER that I work in, we can't even ask for insurance at triage or registration because of EMTALA. This means that we have to go the pts room AFTER they've seen the MD (and not one minute before) and get their insurance card then. If we're busy (which we always are!) and don't make it to their room, we have to catch them leaving, sometimes yelling from the glassed-in cubicle that we have trying to get their attention (they're just wanting to leave!). Frustrating to say the least!

OMG I DO SENSE TWO RULES

I bet this person abuses the A&E system too huh???

I'd have to wonder if this person is constantly calling the nurses for trivial things like water or when is breakfast, lunch, dinner etc coming, can you turn my TV on etc...

As for abusing the A&E dept. well I know that this person has been told, questioned or lectured or what ever you like to call it - Why'd you wait so long to come in or why didn't you come in sooner???

But I don't believe it don't believe it, I'd be willing to bet this person maybe has used a call bell 4/5 times out of what 15/16 occasions will never press it more than once while in hospital, on a number occasions I'd bet this person has waited for say 10-20 minutes coughing and splattering, sob worsening and the only reason the nurse finds out is b/c a) all this can heard from the patients room to the nurses station or b) another patient in the same room has pressed their call bell instead .

I'd bet this patient will not press the call bell despite being told numerous times even if you feel a little bit worse any change in breathing call your nurse but will not do so because she is far too consciences of how busy these nurses are, knows there are other patients on the ward and always assumes the nurse is with another patient, even if the nurse is sitting at the nurses station she/he is busy so this person wont let anyone know what is going on.

I'd be willing to bet this person has let their symptoms go on for up to a 1/2 hour because after five or ten minutes umming and erring about press the call bell, ending up in a lather of sweat just to decide whether or not to press one little round button. 1/2 hour goes by $15 on it that another patient calls the nurse instead, this person gets the third degree about why didn't you call me sooner and ends up being transferred to icu. Yup I'd lay my whole life savings on it.

CONCLUSION: The nurses are always busy therefore this person is far too scared to press that call bell and would only ever, under dire circumstances even consider pressing it at a critical stage. Pressing the button for any other reason is out of the question.

What else??? How about TV??? Nope! I know for a fact that this person is embarrassed about even having the TV turned on EVEN THOUGH YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR IT because TV = a luxury = the belief here is that hospital should not be a luxury = no TV. This patient is under the impression you should be as uncomfortable (whether it be because your too cold or hot) or the bed is too low and ya can't lie down that low because ya too sob you'd rather be sitting upright so when this pt is admitted will use the back of the bed as a pillow in order to sit upright. Again it is uncomfortable but that is how it should be.

Umm what else has been left out??? Thirst and hunger??? Well for one thing after discharged I bet this patient ends up taking home four or five mount franklin water bottles because even though you can have a jug of water filled up if that jug of water is not the it is better have ya mouth dry as toast and when someone comes during visiting hours send em' on down to the cafeteria to buy a bottle of water and while their at it a box of tissues (even though you can get that on the ward) and no this pt doesn't want the womens weekly or new idea because that too equates to a luxury.

Umm food or hunger??? Well I bet food is the LAST thing from this persons mind and upon discharge comes home weighing 43/44 kilos because until one or two days before being discharged has been too sick or wheezing to even have an appetite and ends up coming home and gets/has to eat take-away to gain the weight back on again.

Yes one may be able to turn the tables here say well all this is ridiculous, err not pressing ya call bell is time wasting but if it was read one will see this is not done because the pt chooses to wait until it is absolutely necessary = mild symptoms can wait!!! What has been said here was designed to elicit a response and it was accomplished.

I'm gone!!!!!


Have fun being the only Aussie who frequents the board .