Emergency Room?

[politically incorrect]

I had to take a family member to the Forrest General ER Saturday night for a condition that we thought might have been very serious. Lucky for us it wasn't. We waited for almost five hours to see a doctor! Other people had been there even longer than us. It got so bad that there was a near riot at the front desk when some people who walked in much later got "fast tracked" on to the back.

To top it all off, a nurse and receptionist at the front triage area were very rude to the people who asked how much longer they would have to wait. They acted as if we were being unreasonable for complaining about the extra-long wait.

If this is the kind of service you get at the new FGH Emergency Room that we see being bragged about on TV all the time, I think a lot of people will start going to Wesley.

Anyone else have similar experiences at the ER?

[Maggie-Doodle]

I was at the E.R. approx. 5 weeks ago. I didn't have a minutes trouble getting in nor seeing a doctor. I was there approx. 3-4 hours total but treatment started almost immediately. They monitored my situation very closely and started medications at once. After all the test were performed and the results was sent back to the e.r. (approx. 45 min. wait) it wasn't long before the doc came back, told me what was wrong, gave me more meds sent me home to recup.
I have ALWAYS been well satisfied with the service I have gotten from FGH. I suppose it just depends on how busy they are at the time and on the amount of staff they have on duty at the time.
I have a friend whose daughter went to the FGH e.r. several months ago and she said she had to wait for what seemed like forever BUT she did say they were rather busy. Several friends who goes only to Wesley has told me they have had the same problem out there several times when they would have to go to the e.r. Sounds like it may just be a supply & demand situation for both places. Feast or famine as in alot of other business situations. Non the less, when you are sick and not feeling well, it doesn't make for a pleasant experience.

[Kitty]

I'm not sure if this is still the case, but at one time the FGH ER was second only to the University of Mississippi Medical Center ER in terms of patient volume.

Not trying to make excuses for your experience, but I was unaware of FGH's ER "ranking" until someone in the medical profession told me a few years ago.

[Conveyor Belt]

The few times I've gone to the er, I've had no trouble getting right in. Of course, something's usually punctured when I go, so...

[politically incorrect]

I understand they are busy and I always expect to have to wait unless, like CB, something is punctured. However, a five hour wait is too long. Maybe they should hire more ER doctors if they can't go through the volume of patients they see.

My biggest problem was the lack of understanding from the front desk triage staff. As I said earlier, they acted as if they were doing us a favor by even seeing us. Once we were taken back, the doctor we saw and the nurses were very kind and polite. I have no problem with them.

[noway]

PI--- you need to go by and spend a shift with them.. I bet after the first hour or so you will be in the chapel praying for all of the employees of fgh.. One of the main reason for the wait time is the ER is abused by drug seakers, people wanting a dr excuse for work, and just plain pansies..
EMERGENCY ROOM not a place for tooth aches, back pain, hurt toe, or my back has been hurting for 6 months.

[h'burg most wanted]

politically incorrect: i had a similar experience with Wesley Medical last week. I thought i was better off going to them, because of the unsatisifed service i had received from forrest general in the past so i stop going there. But i took my lil girl to wesley last thursday around 9:30p.m and we didn't leave there until 3:00a.m and i left there a lil pissed (just a lil) because i thought that was just to long to wait. Like u mentioned before luckly she wasn't seriously hurt or it would have become very tense in there!!!

[Conveyor Belt]

If you don't mind me asking, what was the reason for your visit?

[politically incorrect]

If you don't mind me asking, what was the reason for your visit?


My son, who is four, had a condition last year where his bowel "telescoped" into itself, causing a major obstruction. We had to take him to Jackson to the Pediatric Hospital where they almost performed surgery. Luckily, they tried a non-surgical procedure that fixed the problem, but we were told it could re-occur and to be watchful for the symptoms. Well, Saturday night he had the same symptoms he did before. I took him by the ER to get an x-ray - the only way they can really tell if the problem has happened again. Turns out he was ok, just constipated. However, if the condition had come back it could have been a very serious thing. Five hours is too long to wait when your child could be in need of emergency surgery.

As to Noway, I have been in the ER enough to know that they have a very tough job. I saw my share of drug seekers this weekend, so I know what you mean. However, that does not excuse them for taking so long to treat those patients who are there for a legitimate purpose. Especially involving children. There was a woman there the other night with a small child - maybe 18 months old - who had thrown up at least eight times while they waited for a doctor. She had already vomited many times earlier and the mother was afraid she would become dehydrated. She was told they saw patients in the order they came in. After four hours of waiting, she gave up and went home.

[jojobeans1120]

I had basically the same experience you had only it was an 8 and 1/2 hour wait and it was at Wesley!! They did test and everything else that could possibly be done and 4 hours later I was still waiting on the doctor to come back in to tell me the results. I told them that my children were on their way home an hour earlier and that I was in a rush to go and needed to see the doctor again to find out what was wrong asap. My husband watching out the door saw the doctor on the phone laughing and going on in conversation with someone. I waited another 35 minutes. He again told them that I was in a rush and needed to find out what the results of the test were. Another 45 minutes later, I pulled the IV from my arm, walked out told the nurse I was leaving and why. I was asked to sign a paper saying that I was leaving against their advice as to which I signed my name and out beside it I wrote in BOLD letters that I was leaving b/c of their failure to provide pain relief and adequate services. I then left and intend to call the hospital administrator on Monday.

[Kitty]

The wait time in local ERs sounds like a good story for WDAM to tackle.

[justme]

I have found that if i need to see a doctor and it is at a time when immediate care is open I will just go there. I have waited 2 hours there, but I expect to wait there.

[Joelaw]

The few times I’ve been to the ER ( either one ) its been because I was bleeding or flew in on rescue 7 ( once ) so I’ve never had to wait long. I have taken people to the ER and had to wait, it has to do with how bad a person is hurt and how busy they are at the time.

[Conveyor Belt]

It's amazing that none of your or your family memebers have died from lack of care at the ER. Maybe they really know what they're doing after all.

[TheKing]

agreed

ERs use a triage...not first come first served

everybody under the sun has had a story where they have had to wait for obscene amounts of time to be seen at the ER....usually that is the person who comes in with the sniffles....but not always

i tell ya PC...5 hours isnt very out of the ordinary for something that isnt very serious....these guys know what questions to ask to see if your problem is very serious or not

sure they probably could have been much nicer...but dont expect it

[MSQueen]

if i had the time, i could probably write a BOOK on MY opinions about ERs, Immediate Cares, doctors' offices and their staff. but since i don't have the time right now, i will simply say to any and all of u who have had a bad experience -- WRITE A LETTER to whomever, the Supervisor, etc., whatever the case may be. be VERY precise -- dates, times, names and/or titles and/or description of staff, chronological statement of events that occurred.

i have learned to do this in the past dealing with almost ANY complaint i might have about ANYTHING -- and believe me, i have written QUITE A FEW letters in my time! some of them have gotten no response, but more often than not, when i have taken the time to spell out all of the details which occurred and which "ticked" me off, i usually get a response -- either via phone or via mail, to discuss the situation further with me. after all is said and done, things may not be changed regarding what happened to me, but at least SOMEONE LISTENED to my complaints and made me FEEL like they cared and like they wanted to "fix" things to make them better! :)

[58ford]

I recently had an elderly relative who went through some major medical problems, so I've spent those long coffee swilling nights in the ER. It can be maddening. but, they must know what they're doing because the bodies aren't stacking up like chord wood. When you or a love one are ill that seems like the most important thing in the world, but if it was the most life threatening they would take you right away.
I had to wait hours in the middle of the night to get my uncle x-rayed after a fall, but the time I got hit by a car they took me right away.
Let me tell you, if you want fast service at the ER Just come in covered in blood and strapped to a bright yellow board. They were workin' on me before I was even in the building.
I almost felt like a Kennedy.

[58ford]

Just remember to take a book, and pray for the poor bastard that needed treatment sooner than you did.

[nooskye]

Ok ... I understand the wait and all at the ER, unless I'm bleeding to death ... I have sat at Wesley ER and watched a lady come in with a broken arm and dislocated shoulder wait as long as my infant with a 104 degree fever at 9:00 in the morning ... the wait was about 3 hours ... with no one in the ER when we got there .. then an ambulance came in ... so of course they were fast tracked ... as well they should have been ... the doctors did everything possible to treat all concerned and sent us on our way ...

My biggest problem is with regular doctor’s offices ... what is the point of setting an appointment if they will see you at their convenience? I had an appointment at 12:40 last Friday (I was 10 minutes early) ... it was 1:45 when I was called back and then 2:45 by the time I actually got to see the doctor ... When asked what was taking so long ... the response was "we have work-ins to do as well .." ... OK ... well, I have had mine set for a month .. paying a babysitter AND my husband took off work for a 20 minute ultrasound ... my babysitter ended up being late for her job and my girls were irate because I had taken longer than the hour I had told them about ... It’s not like I was there for an everyday OB/GYN check up … it was for an ultrasound … (btw … It’s a GIRL!!) … and I had to wait because of regular doctor visit work-ins … It was more than unnecessary … So, I ask again … what is the point of having appointments if they aren’t kept by the physicians??? There’s even a sign out front saying if the patient is more than 20 minutes late, then we would be rescheduled at their convenience … what is the patients recourse if the physicians are late … by TWO HOURS!!!???!?!?!?!

[Kitty]

… what is the patients recourse if the physicians are late … by TWO HOURS!!!???!?!?!?!
You should send the physician a bill for your time. If they don't pay, send them to collections.

Time is money to everyone. :)

[Blondie]

I agree with MSQueen - write FGH a letter.

FGH once tried to collect on an ER charge that wasn't even mine. I had never even been to FGH, so I have no idea where they got my info. I wrote the head of the business office a letter, and he wrote me back.

I had an abrasion on my cornea a long time ago and had to go to a specialist. I asked him how long before I my eye healed (thinking that's a legit question) and he told me I don't know, I don't have a crystal ball. I was so mad. I had to go back two days later for him to check my eye again, and I told him how I thought it was unprofessional for him to say that to a patient, etc. Do you know he actually wrote me a letter of apology! The DOCTOR himself wrote it. You could tell because if a secretary would have written it, it would have been in the correct letter format. He was probably too embarassed to have anybody write it for him.

While it takes a lot of time and effort to write a letter, you could get a positive response. You will probably get mad writing the letter since you have to think about the experience all over again.

[nooskye]

You should send the physician a bill for your time. If they don't pay, send them to collections.

Time is money to everyone. :)



Oh ... wouldn't that be funny!??!?!?!?!? :smt038 I wish it was that easy!!! LOL! They do request an "excellent service" report if I felt I received such ... wonder what would happen if I gave them the opposite????