Angry mom treated rotten in ER today

[Purple Princess]

I just am not sure what to do. I'm sure if i call the hospital tomorrow to complain i'll get transferred here and there and finally to an answering machine or get hung up on or no one will return my call. My mom is going through the change and her hormones are messed up causing dramatic lady partsl bleeding. she often wears 3-4 pads at a time, underwear ruined, our chairs have towels on them, it's bad. she had a d/c and removal of polyps, cancer ruled out. no health coverage and medicaid won't help. she's weak, looks pale, gets horrible leg cramps etc. today was no exception and our bathroom looked like an operating room. she's had the problem for almost 2 years and apparently little can be done. she's falling asleep and uncomfortable in the waiting room like she might pass out. after 3 hours of waiting i finally told them she had better get examined right quick. got in there the nurse drew blood, and then helped her clean up and changed her bed. so far good, that nurse was an angel. the doctor comes though and basically says they can't do anything for her today, she has to make an appointment with her gynecologist which of course is ALWAYS SO BUSY, might not see her for a couple months. meanwhile she was told if she had problems to go to the ER. then they draw more blood. her count was ok so no transfusion or anything. another guy comes in to start an iv and mom asked for what and he didn't know! so she wouldn't let him so he takes his cart and leaves. another nurse comes in says here's your paper you can leave. she had to go to the bathroom and told them that but they wouldn't even give her anything to cover with to go out in the hall. i won't say what my loving mother did next but well a mess was made. her pants were soaked from blood so she had to leave in a hospital gown, no scrub pants were offered to walk out in the cold. and they didn't even really offer a wheelchair since she is weak and gets light headed. i pulled my car up had the heater going and luckily had a blanket in the car. i realize it's christmas but god last christmas i worked 3 days later i was terminated from my job because they wouldn't hold my position for recovery and 2 days after that i was in the operating room having surgery. medicaide won't help me either. i'm soon to be a nurse, helping people, and no one cares when you or a loved one is sick. what is this world coming to?

[nuangel1, BSN, RN]

:yeahthat: I feel badly for your mom's situation, it's a terrible thing to go through. But this is the difficult thing about patients who present to the ER with a chronic problem ... it's not something that can be fixed now, today, which is what we do in the ER. Honestly, if your mom's gyne has been putting her off for 2+ years, that is the problem, not your experience in the ER yesterday.

I'm sorry that scrubs and a wheelchair were not available, but I can tell you that is common as well ... in my ER we sometimes have paper scrub tops & bottoms, which I will gladly provide if they are available. Wheelchairs are put to use almost as fast as escort staff & volunteers can try to accumulate them in the hallway, so if you need a wheelchair to get to your car upon discharge, I will be happy to try to provide one, but it may well take 20-30 minutes while I round up some available escort staff (if it isn't during night shift) to make another sweep of the hospital to find one for you.

yes your mom should have been treated more curteously.however vicky and mlos are correct .the er is for emergency situations your mom needs to find a gyn that will help her .social services may help as far as the insurance issue.the wait time ,w/c wait no pants that is what the er is like thats the reality of er .the er sounds like it did all it could.

[nuangel1, BSN, RN]

Cholecystitis patients are almost always discharged from the ER with a referral to a surgeon, regardless of whether they have insurance or are self-pay. These patients are rarely admitted. Cholecystitis is generally not a surgical emergency.

Again, I sympathize with the OP's extreme frustration and concern for her mother, but the bottom line is that this situation has been ongoing for 2 years. It's been going on for so long that her mom has come up with adaptive behaviors (wearing 2-3 pads at all times) and so has the family (covering chair seats with towels). While this is a very unfortunate situation, it is not the fault of the ER. If the patient's H&H had been critically low, she would have been transfused. If her condition was a surgical emergency, she would have been sent to the OR.

:yeahthat: while i feel bad for the mom they should have explained why she needed the iv .mlos is correct if h+h was low or she was unstable they would have transfused her the fact that she was d/c was because it wasn't an emergency .she has had this for 2 yrs.we never look at the insurance in any of the er's i have worked and currently work in .we treat the pt.the woman needs a different gyn.

[MedSurgeMess]

same as original post, only wasn't my mother, it was me! I would go ahead and make an appt at the gyn, then try to hang in there-as it was pointed out, this is not acute, but a chronic situation that adaptations have been made for. I got the ablation and transfused 2 units and it saved me. h+h was 2.9-my dr didn't have a clue how I was still functioning at all-or even alive really, and said she just noticed when looking back that my hgb had been dropping a little every time I came and demanded labs drawn either at her office or at ER. Within 6 mos, I was back to normal and since then have felt better than I had in years. I can really relate to the frustration, having been there myself. There are many issues with this; being tired, worn down, and susceptible to other illnesses, as well as the embarrassment of the leaks when you go anywhere. I will keep your mom in my prayers, but tell her to hang in there, and if she must find another gyn who will do something!

[Zizka]

same as original post, only wasn't my mother, it was me! I would go ahead and make an appt at the gyn, then try to hang in there-as it was pointed out, this is not acute, but a chronic situation that adaptations have been made for. I got the ablation and transfused 2 units and it saved me. h+h was 2.9-my dr didn't have a clue how I was still functioning at all-or even alive really, and said she just noticed when looking back that my hgb had been dropping a little every time I came and demanded labs drawn either at her office or at ER. Within 6 mos, I was back to normal and since then have felt better than I had in years. I can really relate to the frustration, having been there myself. There are many issues with this; being tired, worn down, and susceptible to other illnesses, as well as the embarrassment of the leaks when you go anywhere. I will keep your mom in my prayers, but tell her to hang in there, and if she must find another gyn who will do something!

So what did they do to heal you? Draw labs? Huh? What was it that made you sick and how did they fix it? That would help the orginal poster.

Let's hope you just needed a course of iron pills?

[scrmblr]

So what did they do to heal you? Draw labs? Huh? What was it that made you sick and how did they fix it? That would help the orginal poster.

Let's hope you just needed a course of iron pills?

they gave her a UTERINE ABLATION and a TRANSFUSION.

[Altra, BSN, RN]

OT, but if you were discharged from an ER without an appropriate medical screening exam by a mid-level or physician, you may well have a valid EMTALA claim and should pursue it.

To the OP ... hope your mom gets good care soon from another gyne. Let us know how she's doing.

[SharonH, RN]

My remarks were clearer than crystal. I'll repeat it again: Healthcare in the U.S. is a commodity, not an individual right.

I was unemployed/uninsured 2 years ago and my healthcare options were very limited. Prior to that, I had supreme PPO insurance that every doctor loved to accept. I noticed that the quality of care decreased once I became uninsured.

Sadly, this is true. I have never been uninsured but I have had different types of health insurance over the years and the greater the bargain, the less my healthcare options were. I went from my Dad's BlueCross/BlueShield to my husbands military insurance to a PPO and currently we have an HMO. To say that we get the bare minimum of services is being kind. Fortunately we are all healthy.

As for whether or not the staff would treat you differently dependent on the type of insurance: well I agree that for most of us we do not know the type of insurance or even care. But there have been enough threads on this board "venting" about charity cases for me to know that it matters to some of you no matter how much you deny it.

Finally, there is a difference in the care you receive if you are uninsured. I work in a county hospital. The people who come here are clearly without other options, not because the care is substandard but because they have to jump through so many hoops to get it. It's unreal. One example of options available to the insured that are not available to the uninsured: there is a three-year wait for joint replacement surgery. Three years.

[sheep]

Hello! In responding to the original writer's situation with her mother, I agree with some of the other responses to get another GYN. Obviously, the current gyn is doing nothing for this problem with your mother and I cannot believe that her blood counts are not low to zilch. I work in the ER as a patient care associate and am a ASN Nursing student currently at our local college, and I know enough that if your mother is going through horrific complications such as these, there's definitely something seriously wrong. Our ER, as many I'm sure, as far as healthcare providers such as Nurses, Doctors and Pca's (me) do not even know if our patients that come in have insurance or not because that is not our department of expertise, however, no matter we treat everyone the same also, with dignity and respect. Happily that's the reputation that our Hospital has. I think the best answer right now is to get another gyn or get on the phone and find out if there are better surrounding hospitals in your area than the one you've already had experiences with. Good Luck!

[Zizka]

they gave her a UTERINE ABLATION and a TRANSFUSION.

Oop's I missed that, my bad.

[Jo Dirt]

OT, but if you were discharged from an ER without an appropriate medical screening exam by a mid-level or physician, you may well have a valid EMTALA claim and should pursue it.

I'm not sure what EMTALA is...but you could file it

10 or 11 yrs. later? Also, I still have my gallbladder, and I haven't had any serious trouble with it in years.

I remember the nurse who saw me that night. And when the doctor refused to see me she told me she wasn't going to write anything up so I wouldn't be charged for coming into the ER.

But if it's true that health care is a privledge and not a right what kind of claim could I have?

I would love to tell the name of this hospital here, boy would I ever, but I will refrain...will say it is in a no count hick town, though.

[outcomesfirst, BSN, RN]

Hello! In responding to the original writer's situation with her mother, I agree with some of the other responses to get another GYN. Obviously, the current gyn is doing nothing for this problem with your mother and I cannot believe that her blood counts are not low to zilch. I work in the ER as a patient care associate and am a ASN Nursing student currently at our local college, and I know enough that if your mother is going through horrific complications such as these, there's definitely something seriously wrong. Our ER, as many I'm sure, as far as healthcare providers such as Nurses, Doctors and Pca's (me) do not even know if our patients that come in have insurance or not because that is not our department of expertise, however, no matter we treat everyone the same also, with dignity and respect. Happily that's the reputation that our Hospital has. I think the best answer right now is to get another gyn or get on the phone and find out if there are better surrounding hospitals in your area than the one you've already had experiences with. Good Luck!

Extensive bleeding is not unusual in menopausal women - it is inconvenient and perhaps potentially life threatening, but not usually. Women have experienced it for hundreds of years, more now (last 100 years) as the population has aged significantly. But we have a convenient relief - used to be a hysterectomy, but now most go for ablation first. If that does not work then the hys. So, not to hijack the thread I will start a new one. Hope your mom gets help soon.

[caroladybelle, BSN, RN]

My regrets on how your mother was treated.

Some information. First, I do not work in the ER nor have ever worked there. And second, last Thursday, I spent 12 hours in the ER as a patient.

Having said that, I will say that as soon as labs were drawn and the results and condition of your mother was assessed, and was found to be stable and not medically emergent, the appropriate referral was made. You do not have to like the delay or being referred to a gyn...but that IS the appropriate action. And yes, it would be nice to be given nicer cover/privacy/scrub pants, but those things are often not available in many facilities.

And Emergency room is for EMERGENCIES, period. They are incredibly poor places for treating chronic/ongoing problems, and should not be used for such. And as soon as it is assessed that your problem is not threatening your life, making you bleed to death, lose a major organ, a danger to others or lose a limb, you should expect (and quite frankly appreciate) to be moved out. It is sad that it is difficult to find the Gyns that will take a patient that is poorly insured or who delays, but that is an issue with the gyn.

A question, if this problem has gone on for several years and is that severe, most of us will have fostered a relationship with our MD (gyn or IM/FP) and they will know when they need to fit us in. Even when I have been uninsured, I have always fostered a good enough relationship with my MD, that he will see me or have a partner care for me.

As a matter of note, many facilities do not carry scrub pants/extra panties/pads. I had trouble getting a pillow. And if you come into ANY facility, complaining of severe bleeding, 99% of the time they will put in an IV lock...and I really don't want to go to the one that doesn't.

On a personal note, I spent 12 hours in a hall gurney w/o curtains, was examined (abdominal pain/ intractable vomiting x 6 days) in said hall, could not even get a pillow and had to wait 2 hours for pain med. I was in the waiting area for 3.5 hours. I couldn't even get an extra blanket, and had to hike down the Hall to the BR in a skimpy gown holding up my own IV bag (no pole) - I also did not have a call light and did receive IV antemetics/narcs. I had people threaten to cath me for a urine specimen ( I haven't kept down my own mucus for several days - duhhh, do you think I might be dry????). And after tests showed that I was slightly anemic but not terribly so, very dehydrated (got 2.5 Lt of LR/D5W), and that nothing was deathly dangerous, blocked or obstructed, I was sent home.

My Complaint - the dirt for brain (single) parent that brought in three children on blankin' rollerskates that skated, screamed, hollered and threw a hard metal ball all over the crowded ER waiting area.....AND THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO BE THE PATIENTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!