We are already seeing what appears to be an increase in ER visits and 911 calls where I work and live here in Washington State. The problem is that even a small increase bogs the system down and people with real problems don’t get treated in a timely manner. There is absolutely nothing good that is going to come from this legislation... it is virtually bad at every level. Which is what happens when the government starts meddling in areas where they have no expertise.
“We are already seeing what appears to be an increase in ER visits and 911 calls where I work and live here in Washington State. The problem is that even a small increase bogs the system down and people with real problems don’t get treated in a timely manner. There is absolutely nothing good that is going to come from this legislation... it is virtually bad at every level. Which is what happens when the government starts meddling in areas where they have no expertise.”
As I have noted before the non emergency MediCal/Caid ER patients meant that patients with real problems were not treated in a timely manner even before Obozocare hit.
Two years ago a friend broke her ankle due to a faulty escalator at about 8:30 am. She was brought by ambulance to the ER at about 9 Am. Another couple met her at the ER and left after 4 hours with her only getting a temp wrap, not a cast. We came in at about 2 pm to relieve the other couple, and the ER was packed with the non ER patients. The real patients were in exam rooms waiting for the docs. About 2% of us in the waiting room spoke English. Most of the other waiters spoke Spanish or some form of Asian. There was a group of Eastern Euros in the mix.
I went back to my car and got my cell phone and brought it in and started taking pictures of those waiting and the clock. In about 30 minutes a guard asked me not to take pictures. I told him our friend had been there for 4 hours plus without any real treatment. He went to the desk and talked to the head RN, and he came back and said that we could go back to see our friend. I sent my wife, and I stayed and took a picture of the clock.
He said I had to stop. I told him to take me back to where our friend and my wife was. When, I entered that area, I took a picture of the clock by her stretcher. Suddenly, the head ER RN was there wanting to know what we/I wanted. My wife, a life long real RN, said our friend needed a cast with a doctor checking on her since she had been for 5 hours+.
They sent a rookie paramedteck, who put on a cast. Our friend was in worse pain. My wife, as an RN knew that the cast wasn’t on right and told our friend not to move. Then, another doctor came in to the treatment/cast area, we both knew him. We huddled with him and told him about the wait and the poor job of the first cast.
He talked to our friend and called in an ortho RN, who shook his head, removed the poor cast and put our friend in a correct cast. Immediately, her pain was basically gone. It took less than 20 minutes for that doctor to read the X-Rays, conference with my wife, call in a real Ortho Nurse, and for the Ortho RN to put on a proper cast.
The current doctor checked on her and concurred with my wife. He then said we could take her home.
By the time we got her home, it was close to 7 hours since she had come into the hospital with a simple fracture with basically no real treatment for close to 6 hours. She could have been seen, xrayed, casted and checked out in about an hour instead of basically a day.
It must be even a worse nightmare where you are.
Maybe they can start Rxing medical MJ and put the Obamacare ER Patients on it, then they can see the real patients.