They left my love one in the E.R. for....

gwenith, BSN, RN · Oct 26, 2003

We have "holds" in the ER so long that they get better by themselves and go home - one of the down sides to free hospital system.

EMTPTORN · Oct 26, 2003

Unfortunatly the same thing happens sometimes where I work on night shift. I get sooooooooo sick of saying i am sorry......but what else can I say!!!!! It is frustrating to come to work and know most everyone you meet is going to be mad AT YOU because you are the one there, it is not your fault...and so life must go on.

So, to answer your question: I say I am sorry, I have no control over it, (and most often I have other pts waiting, too)...so I tell them they are not alone........and I try to make them as comfortable as possible......feed them if not NPO, etc....

back for more fun tonight.....oh Boy!!!!

Cqc_Cqb · Oct 26, 2003

I dont get it, what are you people whining about? So you or someone you know goes to the ED and has to spend a few hours there. At least they are getting medical attention. It isnt like they are left to care for themselves. What is most interesting is that is sounds like the people doing the most whining are nurses or people in the medical field. I mean if you are a nurse then you know that some times the hospital is full, and at other times most if not all of the hospitals in an area is full. With this knowledge why do you complain about the length of time in the ED.

As for saying your sorry to patients and / or their families, once is enough. After you explain to them the hospitals situation then you should move on to your job, after all it isnt your fault the hospital is full.

Maybe I have become a little roughened over the years. But I dont see complaining helping any situation. In stead people should be saying what a good job the ED is doing with holding patients and providing them the best care they can in a stiuation they arent really set up for.

Just my personal thoughts on the subject.

nialloh, RN · Oct 26, 2003

We are now considerd to be a part of the service industry by a lot of people. If you go to a hotel, you expect to be taken care of right away, and some people put a hospital on par with a hotel. If not a little lower IMHO. :confused:

memphispanda, RN · Oct 26, 2003

Well...the hospital I work at definitaly has a problem with the ER wait time. But it isn't the wait to be seen necessarily, it's the time waiting for a room on one of the floors after you have been seen in the ER. Major supply and demand problem. People are often in the ER for 2 days waiting for a bed, and 4 days isn't unheard of. I think that's something to gripe about!

jadednurse · Oct 26, 2003

Originally posted by Cqc_Cqb
I dont get it, what are you people whining about? So you or someone you know goes to the ED and has to spend a few hours there. At least they are getting medical attention. It isnt like they are left to care for themselves. What is most interesting is that is sounds like the people doing the most whining are nurses or people in the medical field. I mean if you are a nurse then you know that some times the hospital is full, and at other times most if not all of the hospitals in an area is full. With this knowledge why do you complain about the length of time in the ED.

As for saying your sorry to patients and / or their families, once is enough. After you explain to them the hospitals situation then you should move on to your job, after all it isnt your fault the hospital is full.

Maybe I have become a little roughened over the years. But I dont see complaining helping any situation. In stead people should be saying what a good job the ED is doing with holding patients and providing them the best care they can in a stiuation they arent really set up for.

Just my personal thoughts on the subject.

So your solution to the whining is to whine yourself about it?

sjoe · Oct 26, 2003

Most likely the people who work in the ER have a much clearer notion of who needs what FIRST and who can wait, given the limitations of their facility, than you do.

Do you think he should have been treated before someone else who might have died or had otherwise unnecessary long-term problems if that had happened, just because he is your "love sic] one"?

In a number of ERs, 24 hour waits are not unusual. In a number of ERs, MOST people there are not dealing with true emergencies and they clog up the system for everyone. In most communities, ERs are underfunded, understaffed, and underappreciated--not least by patients who think they are at MacDonalds and come in demanding immediate and complete treatment and feeling totally entitled, with no awareness or appreciation of what is really going on.

IMHO.

sjoe · Oct 26, 2003

It doesn't sound like whining to me. It sounds more like "Grow up and get a grip! You AIN'T entitled!"

(I already posted the following on a related forum)

Most likely the people who work in the ER have a much clearer notion of who needs what FIRST and who can wait, given the limitations of their facility, than you do.

Do you think he should have been treated before someone else who might have died or had otherwise unnecessary long-term problems if that had happened, just because he is your "love sic] one"?

In a number of ERs, 24 hour waits are not unusual. In a number of ERs, MOST people there are not dealing with true emergencies and they clog up the system for everyone. In most communities, ERs are underfunded, understaffed, and underappreciated--not least by patients who think they are at MacDonalds and come in demanding immediate and complete treatment and feeling totally entitled, with no awareness or appreciation of what is really going on.

IMHO.

NYCRN16 · Oct 26, 2003

He waited 8 hours?? Actually in ER time that is about an hour wait. I work in a very busy ED where the wait time for a bed is often 12-24 hours. Is this my fault? No way. If they are waiting 8 hours and then discharged, its probably because they got slammed with emergencies. If you think about it, a lot of what holds up patients in the ED is the floors. In my hospital you have to spend a lot of precious time attempting to get the patient into a bed, because they give you all the excuses in the world on the floor. "The nurse is on break" {I called 3 times over the past 3 hours, I would love to work on that floor and get that many breaks!}, "The bed isnt washed" {when I called and gave report 2 hours ago, they are still washing the bed?}. That is one of the most common holdups in the ED, so if you are looking to point fingers, also point them at the floors. I am not saying that ALL floors do this, but in my hospital you tend to see the same 2 or 3 units do this when you know they have many empty beds available (the nursing supervisor gives us a list, so we know they do). They dont want to take report after 5 am? Too bad. In the ER we dont get to say "wait its 6:50 am, I dont want another patient". Most of the time the reason they are getting report at 5 am is because we couldnt get a hold of them until then. I would say that many of the patients I see in the ED could have waited to see thier PMD the next day, and get mad when they have to wait. Im sorry, but if you came in for weakness x 3 months, or a sore throat, expect to wait, I need to attend to my chest pain patient who has a history of MI, or my bleeder who needs a blood transfusion. Sorry to sound rude, but this is the reality of the ER. I think you have to work in an ED to understand this process. You cant judge if you have never lived it.

Trauma Columnist · Oct 26, 2003

Certainly not judging what your loved one was in the ER for, but our level one trauma center is packed morning till morning with nonsense.

Jon's sis · Oct 26, 2003

At the hospital I work at, they have a 4 bed section in the back for ED Observation. The patients are still ER patients, but are not admitted. I guess that way, if the docs are iffy on admitting them, they have the 23 hours to give antibiotics, see if the N/V stops or whatever, before deciding to send them to the floor.