WTH??? Woman falls in hospital, told to call ambulance...

[AndrzejL]

They could hire a proof-reader tho... Erybody would be happier...

[weirdwolf]

That's just wrong.....

[AndrzejL]

That's just wrong.....

On many different levels...

[djohnston]

Source

She was finally lifted into a wheelchair after a passing orthopedic surgeon spotted the drama.

When paramedics did eventually arrive, it emerged that they had travelled from another hospital because of a lack of staff at Greater Niagara General Hospital.

The hospital supervisor blamed the incident on a communication problem between staff.

Dr Kevin Smith said staff should never call the emergency room if somebody is injured inside the hospital. Instead, they should have called a 'code' team that deals with internal incidents.

A review of the hospital policy is now underway, Dr Smith said.

Canada's Health Minister Deb Matthews described the incident as 'very disappointing'.

[pags]

 

I'm usually very proud to be Canadian, but sometimes...

I pray that this at least serves to prevent something like this from ever happening again.

[arkanabar]

This sort of incident is called a "sentinel event" by the Joint Commission, and it's the sort of thing to which they pay VERY close attention during their surveys.  They always want to know about the policies and procedures for dealing with sentinel events, and typically want to see the documentation for any that have happened since the last survey.  TJC is probably the foremost accreditation organization in North America and quite possibly the world.
 
However, Greater Niagara General Hospital is accredited by Accreditation Canada.  Obviously they don't operate in the US, the way TJC operates in Canada.  I'm glad GNGH's quality people are taking this seriously.  I foresee a lot of meetings and training sessions for just about everyone in the place. 

I can't effectively link to GNGH's scorecard at http://www.myhospitalcare.ca/ but if you'll click on the 'hospital' tab and search for them, it'll come right up.  My overall impression is that their patients tend to be more unhappy than the mean, and they're losing ground on that.  On the other hand, their patient safety stats are good, and better than others.

Here's the telling bit: 

When paramedics did eventually arrive, it emerged that they had travelled from another hospital because of a lack of staff at Greater Niagara General Hospital.

  This matches up with their ER wait time for patients with complex conditions:  over 15 hours, higher than the provincial average of 12 hours, and far more than the goal of 8 hours.

[OMSkates]

I'm pretty sure that event doesn't fall into definition of Sentinel Event.  Also Sentinel Event definitions apply to admitted patients already under care.  She was a visitor.  Many hospitals are required to call EMTs for events "off campus" even if it is 30 feet from the lobby doors.   

[parnote]

I'm pretty sure that event doesn't fall into definition of Sentinel Event.  Also Sentinel Event definitions apply to admitted patients already under care.  She was a visitor.  Many hospitals are required to call EMTs for events "off campus" even if it is 30 feet from the lobby doors.   

+1 ... no Sentinel Event here. Just plain ol' cover-you-ass-by-not-getting-involved. The liability issues are HUGE since the woman is not, at the time of the incident, under the care of the hospital.

[joechimp]

Would they have treated her if she had had some kind of seizure or a heart attack?

[Bald Brick]

I'm pretty sure that event doesn't fall into definition of Sentinel Event.  Also Sentinel Event definitions apply to admitted patients already under care.  She was a visitor.  Many hospitals are required to call EMTs for events "off campus" even if it is 30 feet from the lobby doors.   

+1 ... no Sentinel Event here. Just plain ol' cover-you-ass-by-not-getting-involved. The liability issues are HUGE since the woman is not, at the time of the incident, under the care of the hospital.

So it's all because of your jury system; i.e.lay  juries awarding people ridiculously large damages just for less than optimal medical treatment. On the other hand, wouldn't the liability of the hospital staff walking by without helping her be much larger. It would here.

[parnote]

I'm pretty sure that event doesn't fall into definition of Sentinel Event.  Also Sentinel Event definitions apply to admitted patients already under care.  She was a visitor.  Many hospitals are required to call EMTs for events "off campus" even if it is 30 feet from the lobby doors.   

+1 ... no Sentinel Event here. Just plain ol' cover-you-ass-by-not-getting-involved. The liability issues are HUGE since the woman is not, at the time of the incident, under the care of the hospital.

So it's all because of your jury system; i.e.lay  juries awarding people ridiculously large damages just for less than optimal medical treatment. On the other hand, wouldn't the liability of the hospital staff walking by without helping her be much larger. It would here.

I'm not debating the merits of our judicial system. It's just the way things are and the system that we have to work under, until our misguided and out-of-touch lawmakers grow the kahoonas to fix the problem. Meanwhile, they are too worried about getting re-elected to do anything that might upset a group of voters.

[chilly]

All i can say is it's a crying shame it has come to this

[parnote]

I do have to add a side note to this.

At the hospital where I work, we routinely DO respond to emergencies involving visitors. Our hospital administration has made the choice of preserving human life and minimizing human suffering, over the possibility of later legal action.

[djohnston]

At the hospital where I work, we routinely DO respond to emergencies involving visitors. Our hospital administration has made the choice of preserving human life and minimizing human suffering, over the possibility of later legal action.

Which is how it should be. I would also hope that compassion and empathy would be exercised at all hospitals. Seems to be too much to ask from some of humanity these days.

[OMSkates]

Would they have treated her if she had had some kind of seizure or a heart attack?

I would think so, Joe.  Her condition may have placed her, per triage, so far at the end of the line that they felt she would get care sooner at another hospital.  E.R.s have to triage.  A seizure or possible heart attack most likely would have triaged her right to the front of the line in their E.R.  A visitor in cardiac arrest or respiratory arrest would be an official code blue within any hospital.   I'm thinking this hospital may have had a full E.R. and was already re-directing E.M.T. vehicles to neighboring hospitals.