I don't even know how to describe our terrible experience 2 nights ago! Spent 8 hours in emerg for severe right sided abdomen pain with nausea. It was like a ghost town back there with no doctors or nurses in sight but a full house of patients in beds or chairs. Saw a nurse just once to put in iv and take vitals. No real answers as nothing really showed up on CT scan. Told to go see family doctor to set up mri for spot on pancreas which er doc said was larger than my previous imaging (family doc found nothing on any previous report of spot) Went home and realized they hadn't even takin out the IV port. Will go to Niagara Falls or Welland next time.
Posted Date : 12/09/2023
Anonymous
No one should be surprised when needing to go to ER either by ambulance or by your own means. By ambulance the paramedics have to wait for triage before they can leave and do their job. The halls are packed with paramedics and their patients. Going in by your own steam, you hand in ohip card asap. Within a half hr you go through triage, then register. Then the wait. It tells you how long before you see a dr , for me 4 hrs first time to 6hrs second. Finally being admitted after 10 hrs. They call a few people usually every hr to go where the Dr is. When in room nurse does vitals then tests then Dr. May need more tests or a diagnosis. If admitted you may go to urgent care. The nursing staff night and day were patient, had empathy and followed Dr’s instructions. You may see them twice during their shift unless special care was needed. They are there to check on vitals not to give you personal bedside care and chat. The porters who take you to the floor are encouraging and try to make you feel safe. The nursing staff on oncology ward were just as caring as the other floor . This floor knew what to expect so seemed less stressed. The urgent care floor seemed under great pressure as patients came and went continuously. Finally you are about to go home but need to be moved as your more stable and they need your bed. So you arrive on second floor which is very quiet with patients who are ready to go home. Staff friendly but the need for assistance is low. I saw 3 Dr’s, all were professional , their time was very limited. I’ve noticed a lot of negative comments on the care. My experience was positive. I realized observing that they are short staff in housekeeping and food servicing but noticed team work. A thank you for reassuring me as I went in not knowing what was wrong with me but knowing the staff through their knowledge did the best under the circumstances. I understand now that when you go to ER you want help if in pain asap. Hospital staff make decisions on care needed and advise you to see your family dr to do follow up and send you to specialists to guide you on your care. Hospital staff do not cure you of issues just stabilize you so you can then go to the specific dr for ongoing care.
Anonymous
Terrible hospital with great icu nurses, and luckily had a good surgeon. Go in with abdominal pain to the point of passing out and coming back through, tell them I have diverticulitis, can’t even stand, laying in the waiting room for an hour, get in, laying down another 3 hours throwing up and passing in and out, saying I need to see someone, finally get a doctor in who has to run tests when even for me it’s quite obvious something inside has ruptured, get a bed and an IV after 5 hours, my vitals start crashing when I get hooked up and only then do the nurses and doctors flock over looking âconcernedâ something is actually wrong, get a ct which showed what I suspected the whole time even though it was blurry seeing as I couldn’t breathe, surgeon finally comes and knows what he’s talking about and says we need to go NOW, took over 8 hours of my intestines leaking into my body and being septic for me to get in, damaged my heart and god knows what else. Luckily the surgeon pulled through and aftercare nurses were GREAT even though they are extremely understaffed, I’m talking 3 nurses for 50+ patients and they look exhausted. The actual ER nurses and doctors were quite clueless. Shouldn’t be septic and almost die for 8 hours in excruciating pain before I get in. People who needed stitches were getting in before me and I was laying on the ground. Later on I hear it probably took them longer because lots of people come in and complain about stomach pain for pain meds. Doesn’t take a genius to realize someone with diverticulitis and stomach pain to the point of what I was exhibiting was a perforated bowel. Only reason I rated it okay at all was for the icu nurses and staff I had AFTER my surgery. Not before.
Anonymous
Terrible . NUrses are great.
Problem is the doctor disappeared. We have been waiting for over 2 hours for the doctor to give results from xray and ultrasound. Not a good thing fir a 97 year old to wait so long
Anonymous
Cafeteria area was disgusting. No one wipes or cleans the tables when people are done using them. Unbelievable!
Anonymous
I came in with a dislocated shoulder. the receptionist was rude and told me i would be waiting for hours. at the time they and myself were un sure of the extent of my injury tho they did not seem to care they were working with minimal effort and then had they audacity to say there busy. went to x ray no pain meds. they knocked me out popped it back in not even properly as well had to get fixed a week later. back to x-ray still no pain meds and they only looked at my shoulder so my forearm and hand injury’s were totally overlooked. doc came back at the end of the visit and would only give me t3 and nothing else for pain. i explained to him t3 don’t work on me and he walk away i left in pain and with a improper shoulder relocation and still unsure of other injury’s. also they had a covid positive patient put next to me in x-ray for no reason and door was locked so i wasn’t even able to lave the area. horrifying experience if I’m hurt in the future i will consider other options.