Emergency Room Waiting Times

yea it is ridiculous. i live in new york and i got taken in by an ambulence and i was on oxygen and they took my oxygen and made me sit in the waiting room for hours while my lips were all blue and they kept telling my mom it was a panic attack. ive had a panic attack before and your lips dont turn blue

 

I guess we're lucky, because there are three hospitals nearby. I don't know if it's because of that or not, but when I've taken my bf in to a hospital (had to do it a couple times), he's been seen quite fast. The one time he didn't get seen quickly was his own damn fault. He has a tough time showing "weakness" in front of others, so even though he was in a ton of pain, he maintained a calm demeanor and told the triage nurse that he had "some discomfort" instead of the buttload of pain he was actually feeling. She of course took that to mean he wasn't feeling much, and so didn't send someone around for quite some time. He quickly learned "Don't put a brave face on for the ER."

What can you do? I'd mention it to the doctor. A four-hour wait is totally unacceptable. Maybe there's another hospital you can go to?

Lex

 

The E.R.s around here boast of an average time of 30 minutes in the waiting room, so it definitely isn't something that is plaguing the US. The waiting times have a lot to do with being understaffed and people who are going to the ER because they don't have a primary care physician. You see this happen more in major cities than in satellite or minor cities, so waiting times aren't as bad around me.

 

The 2 times I've been to the hospital emergency room, one for myself, and one for my mom, it was very fast. Def under 30 minutes.

 

Here's the way it works. You should be seen by a triage nurse within 15 minutes of your arrival. They should get basic registration information from you at that time. In most hospitals, you're given a triage score that puts you in one of three priority tracks- urgent, serious or minor.

Unless you're having an urgent problem- like major trauma, chest pain or a stroke, avoid the bigger hospitals. Unless you're scored as urgent, then you can expect to wait an hour to up to 4 hours wait before you are seen. Peak times in a large hospital emergency room are after 5PM on weekdays and anytime on a weekend. And in peak seasons like flu season (Dec-Feb), your stay in the emergency room may be as long as 6-12 hours.

If you have a serious issue like a cut that requires stitches, broken bones or dehydration, think about going to a smaller hospital where the patient volumes are lower. For example, there is a private surgery hospital where I live that has an emergency department that is almost always empty and their typical wait time is about 10 minutes and I tell people to go there.

If you have a minor issue like a cold or infection, consider going to a minor emergency center and not to a hospital. It will cost you about 1/2 to 1/3 as much as a hospital emergency department visit. And you will probably be in and out of there in an hour.

 

I think it's ridiculous.

Most powerful country in the world.
And you don't even have free hospital treatments.

NHS FTW!!

I think it's completely mental.

 

Guess the amount of money you pay is inversely proportional to your waiting time? Here going to the ER costs a hell lot of money (which is probably why it's mostly empty).

 

I adore the NHS. They have been really good to me.
I spent 5 hours waiting when I went to A&E once but I didn't really mind the wait. It was kind of nice to sit down with nothing to do but think.

 

I have never had a waiting time for more then 4-5 minutes at ER here, and I have taken my family in numerous times (Never been to a hospital for myself though).

Plus, is Aus it's free! (unless you call an Ambo)

 

I'm in Canada and ive been to the emeregency around 5 times, and a couple times with friends, and the minimum ive ever had to wait was 7.5 hours...and that was when my friend cut half his finger off. you see a nurse right when u walk in, but to actually see a doctor is usually 8+. The quality of care given is great!, but its just that there's alot of people without family physicians so everyone goes to the ER if their kids have a slight cough.

 

Yep, it wasn't like half with bone, but sliced off most of the tissue. The nurse was able to stop the bleeding and put this giant gauze/bandage on it. But its still a ridiculously long wait before getting stitches.

 

... They are right!!

Canada's E.R are I.N.S.A.N.E !!! As impossibleornot said, the "normal" waiting time is 8 hours here. Sorry but I practically laughed about this "4 hours" story ... I had a lack of oxygen (which is really dangerous if it gets to the brain), plus a severe asthma problem and it took 9 hours to see a doctor. After, he sent me to a girl who took some information and said that my lungs were now really weak and that they were working at less than 30 % ... My skin was transparent and we were able to look at my veins and my circulation lol...

Anyways.. haha. E.R suck in US... but just think about Canada's E.R...

 

the problem is that so many people use the E.R. as their doctors office.

*flips off the republicans for not seeing that providing healthcare so people who cant afford high preimiums for insurance have options to have doctors will prevent long waits at the emergency room when people go who arent having a emergency*

do what I did... collapse a lung and go into near cardiac arrest because my body was going into shock from lack of normal oxygen levels and my vital signs plummeted. they rushed me in fast. they werent even done checking me in.