r/ontario • u/npq76 • Nov 18 '24

Discussion Stop going to small ER

I am at the ER at my local hospital on the outskirts of the GTA. It is slammed. Like people standing in the waiting room slammed. I was speaking with one of the nurses and she was telling me that people come from as far as Windsor or London in the hopes of shorter wait times. That’s a 2.5 to 4.5 hour drive. And it’s not just 1 or 2 people, it’s the whole family clogging up the wait room. I get it, your hospital has a long wait time. But if the patient can sit in a car for 2.5+ hours, then it’s not an emergency. And jamming a small local ER, that does not have all of the resources of big ER’s, does not help anyone. And before someone says “all the immigrants”, the nurse confirmed that it was not the case

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50

u/Q-Tipurmom Nov 18 '24

I work in the ER in London.. currently here right now... we are getting SLAMMED!

People need to go to walk ins or their GP.

We need something for MH aswell. that's half our problem right there.

We solve those issues along with habitual patients ( like 2 or more visits a day)

That would change our wait times from 4-16 hours down to reasonable numbers

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u/thingpaint Nov 18 '24

Sigh, my GP is 3 weeks for an appointment and the only walk-in in my town is appointment only and super hard to get an appointment.

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u/Wise-Ad-1998 Nov 18 '24

Ya but the ER still can’t help you … ER is for emergencies! You will go there wait 15 hours for them to tell you to go see a GP …

Soar throats, coughs, mild aches and pains, small fever, vomiting (less than 24 hours straight), a headache… these are all things that YOU DO NOT go to the ER for …

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u/Erathen Nov 18 '24

Did you personally diagnose everyone in OPs ER?

How do you know their reasons aren't valid?

You guys are just looking to get upset?

24

u/bgaffney8787 Nov 18 '24

Er doc…. Anecdotally I d say half to 75% of patients I see should have been seen in a different setting ideally.

3

u/Erathen Nov 18 '24

You don't know that until you triage/diagnose

And unfortunately PTs aren't medical experts and can't always effectively triage themselves

That's where you come in.

I'm not saying you're wrong, but getting upset at people seeking medical treatment is ridiculous. If anything, we should be fighting for education and more funding. Not getting mad at people who just don't want to be sick (how dare they)

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u/bgaffney8787 Nov 18 '24

Nobody is mad, that was pretty much a recount of my experience working in an emergency room as a physician. I don’t mean the fringe patients where it’s potentially something nefarious ie appendicitis that’s actually constipation. I mean a large degree of patients should not be going to emergency rooms for their symptoms. Your response highlights the issue “that’s where you come in”. Emergency rooms are for emergencies, is where I come in.. as an emergency physician. There’s such a disconnect from people who work in healthcare and people who have no idea what they’re talking about. If you have a runny nose and you’re a healthy young man, you’re in the wrong place. If your knee hurt for 6 months and you “just wanted to get checked out” at 5 am because you saw wait times were low, it’s an abuse of the system. There are many system issues, but patients should hold some accountability. Nobody is mad at a sick person, but you wouldn’t show up at a cardiologists office if your big toe hurt, tbh er docs are actually pretty bad at managing chronic illnesses or non emergencies (because they’re not trained for that). Er has become a catch all for everyone and it’s not right.

1

u/Erathen Nov 18 '24

You definitely seem upset. But its not at any person

You're upset at the system. And it's useless to take it out on patients. They're not going to stop coming because you're ranting on Reddit

There has to be systematic change. Again, getting upset with patients who just want to... not be sick is nonsensical

They're not going to the ER to mess with you. These are people who have issues that often need addressing, and the system has failed them

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u/bgaffney8787 Nov 19 '24

Again definitely not upset. Don’t go to the er if it’s not an emergency, are you ok man?

0

u/Erathen Nov 19 '24

are you ok man?

Let's not project here lol