Re: Death after two-hour ER wait ruled homicide
After so many interesting posts in this thread, I see a common point, and it is not that we need to throw more more nurses and doctors at the problem. People are misusing the ER and EMS system more than ever before, even in cases where there is a convenient/prompt/urgent care center nearby that could better address their needs. Between that and the (mostly college age) drunks who are brought in to occupy several ER beds at a time during any given weekend, the ER's are running out of places to put patients. Don't even get me started on the ones who come in and want "Dilaudid, 2 mg every hour" - yup, they state the demand just that way, and then say they are "allergic" to virtually all of the non-narcotic analgesics.
Just the other day, my former neighbor called for EMS to take her husband to the ER for a sore throat. She also told those who responded on past calls to their apartment that she "pulls the cord in the bathroom so that they will get there quicker."
She could have just as easily taken him to a CCC and had a doctor look at his throat. This sort of stuff happens all the time everywhere, and I doubt that people will ever learn otherwise.
The national average waiting time is probably still around eight hours, although we run considerably less than that where I work. Some people often complain loudly if they have to wait more than ten minutes - they yell and scream, feign serious illness, lie down on the floor of the waiting room, drop names of people they actually believe will help them to be moved to the top of the list, etc., thinking that these (mis)behaviors will get them "seen quicker".
Re: Death after two-hour ER wait ruled homicide
Nursing News