Before my wife and I hot married she was an ER Director in Waco Texas, prior to that she was an ER Director in Houston TX. She spent close to 20 years in that position. Her stories of what happens in ER’s and the people coming is saddening. While there are some serious cases and warrant the visit, most are alcohol and drug related. The number of people who abuse the ER’s or what they call the ER regulars take up about 40% of their time. They mimic the perfect symptoms in an effort to get the drugs they’re looking for. As far as the waiting for 4 hours thing let’s just say they’ll wait even longer at the thought of getting relief from problems such as withdrawal symptoms such as those from drugs are alcohol. Both can cause severe anxiety attacks. It’s a crazy place.
Got married! But I must admit she was pretty hot and still is.
Precisely
I suddenly developed severe pain in left side of my back and it kept getting worse over a period of two hours. Husband to me to ER. They kept insisting I had an entopic pregnancy. I told them I had my tubes tied. The pain was excruciating. They refused to give me anything for pain. Said people come in the ER with this common complaint looking for pain meds. Hours later they found I had a kidney stone. Admitted me and scheduled for surgery next day. I passed the stone morning of surgery.
My brother in law is a doctor and some of the stories he can tell about the ER are mind blowing. Some people as already posted, a sinus infection, constipated, an ingrown toe nail, things they could go to their family doctor for but because they have a state card or have no intention of paying for services rendered anyway, just go to the ER. He had one lady who had to wait for an hour to get in and chewed him out because she had missed the Jerry Springer show. She had a cold...
The worst of the worst are the pill heads. Their back always hurts, give me something. You pull their records and many have a record of an MRI and xrays and nothing is present but give me a scrip for pain. What a waste of time for doctors.
On the other end I had a lady friend in her early 60’s who is normally quite healthy turn violently ill from pain in her side and stomach one evening and she eventually had to go to the ER, as she was in agony. She described her pain and the doctor examined her, ordered no tests and walked out of the room.
The doctor walks back in and hands her a script for pain meds and she said what is this? Oh a prescription for the pain take it and if it still hurts go to your regular doctor or come back tomorrow. She wadded it up and threw it at him and said I am not some damned pill head looking for a hit, now you either try and find out what is causing this pain or send me a real doctor who will!!! He sent in another doctor. Turns out it was her gallbladder needing removed.