Society/Culture Triage

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Freo Big Fella

Freo Big Fella

#Flagmantle
Fallout Fan Veteran 10k Posts
Sep 30, 2003
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triage

Triage (pronounced /ˈtriɑʒ/) is a process of prioritizing patients based on the severity of their condition.
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Do people just not get this concept?

Had to make an emergency room trip last week due to a friend having a few too many beers and hitting his head on a wall. Found the Nurses and other medicos to be very professional and understanding - they continued to monitor him even though several ambulances turned up with patients in a very bad way.

We had about a four-five hour wait before he could get properly seen to, but we thought that it was a fair enough considering it's ultimately free treatment and he was looked after pretty well in the meantime.

But seriously, the behaviour of some of the people we were waiting with was downright disgusting. Not just the usual drunks and drug addled you no doubt get on friday night, but perfectly sober middle aged people abusing (and getting physical with) nurses because their (assumedly) minor complaints weren't being given priority over people who were in far worse condition.

Full credit to the ER staff at SCGH for maintaining professionalism in the face of such shitty behaviour.
 
Freo Big Fella said:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triage



Do people just not get this concept?

Had to make an emergency room trip last week due to a friend having a few too many beers and hitting his head on a wall. Found the Nurses and other medicos to be very professional and understanding - they continued to monitor him even though several ambulances turned up with patients in a very bad way.

We had about a four-five hour wait before he could get properly seen to, but we thought that it was a fair enough considering it's ultimately free treatment and he was looked after pretty well in the meantime.

But seriously, the behaviour of some of the people we were waiting with was downright disgusting. Not just the usual drunks and drug addled you no doubt get on friday night, but perfectly sober middle aged people abusing (and getting physical with) nurses because their (assumedly) minor complaints weren't being given priority over people who were in far worse condition.

Full credit to the ER staff at SCGH for maintaining professionalism in the face of such shitty behaviour.
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Glad your mate was okay.

Thats why I no longer work in ED. Abusvie inconsiderate idiots.

The number of times a patient was triaged as a cat 4 or 5, say with a sore throat, no temp, obs okay, and they get physical with you.

When at the same time you have a car accident in resus, and 2 people having active resus, and you have peanuts trying to hit you, its pathetic.

too many of these losers around nowdays.
 
Agree, the few times I have attended casualty due to suspected broken bones, I have been happy to wait if an emergency comes in. The number of people who crack the sads because they have an upset stomach, or sprained ankle & don't get immediate treatment is appalling, especially when they say first in should get treatment first, totally ignoring the fact that people might die, while they are getting their ankle strapped etc.
 

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One of the main reasons my partner refuses to work in emergency.

Staff down at Charlies are utter professionals when handling these sort of things. I dont know how they put up with these floggers.
 
A surgeon friend of mine has done a lot of work in ER.

He told me a story from years back when a young guy that had a minor injury, which he suffered while being drunk was complaining about having to wait. The complaining got too much for the senior doctor who called him through and invited him to see the patient that they were treating. It was a teenage boy that had been involved in a serious accident and was about to die. The drunk actually watched the guy die, then to doctor told him to f**k off back to the waiting room, which he did quietly.

He said a number of people had verified it as true but he was not actually there.

I remember being in ER one Sunday afternoon when I had breathing problems after suffering a rib injury playing soccer. A guy came to the door and explained politely that he had to be somewhere at 4-30 so was it possible to be seen. The nurse put on her very best smile and said "sure sir, we will do our very best to make sure you are seen as soon as possible". Once he had gone back to his seat, she said under her breath " You think I don't want to be at the f***ing Sunday Session either" and explained that his card was now being placed further back in the pile.
 
You've got people having a really bad day, not being informed about what's going on, not understanding the process.

Smart arse, vindictive "professionals" don't help the situation, nor does crappy hospital administration unable to get enough staff to cope with the load.

Bit of a chill pill all round wouldn't go astray.
 
Chief said:
You've got people having a really bad day, not being informed about what's going on, not understanding the process.

Smart arse, vindictive "professionals" don't help the situation, nor does crappy hospital administration unable to get enough staff to cope with the load.

Bit of a chill pill all round wouldn't go astray.
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I understand where you are coming from but a bit of patience from the patients wouldn't go astray either. ER would be very stressful and petty minded people are a problem.
 
A little communication wouldn't go astray though. For instance, getting to the end of your patience and dragging someone out the back to watch another patient die isn't communication. It's a band-aid approach to a single disgruntled patient.

Hospitals are just bad at handling waiting patients who are often in pain and distressed and not in their normal state of mind, yet are expected to wait calmly and quietly. It's not logical to do things like use security guards on these people - it's logical to manage the situation so it doesn't end up that way.

I remember a guy who had been cut severely in a kitchen accident, was in line to register at the desk then was forced by a security guard to go to the back of the line because he got out of the queue to sit down and try to stop the blood flow. That's just lunacy.

Will have to dig out the article in which the subject talks about the best design for a hospital being more like an airport than the current office building style. Interesting reading.
 
I've been to ER maybe half a dozen times since my son was born.

In no particular order:

1. Electrocuted myself, by the time ambo arrived I was ok, irregular heart-beat and sweating, and my left arm was numb, but otherwise normal. Forced to take ambo in, and seen-to straight away, despite no discomfort/pain/etc. (Just felt like I'd finished a sprint apart from the arm which felt like I'd slept on it).

2. Dislocated shoulder - just couldn't get it back in. 3 hours in waiting room, 10 seconds in consult, then back to waiting room for another few hours until medication could be provided.

3. My (baby) son had irregular breathing, blue lips, puffy swollen eyes. After 40 minutes seen, told it was just a cold/blocked nose and to "suck the snot out"....sent home.

4. (about 6 hours after #3). My son stopped breathing on way to hospital. Seen immediately (I literally ran through the doors....no way in hell I was stopping).

5. My son (now 2) jumped off the couch, hitting his head on the edge of the coffee table. Gash was about an inch long, and very deep (eventually x-rays showed minor skull fracture). Bleeding profusely, we sat in waiting for 3 hours - only being admitted when he lost consciousness for the 3rd time.

=====
The biggest problem I have is doctors who refuse to listen, or consider other points of view. We may be first time parents, but we do know our son's medical history. Taking 11 attempts to find a vein (both hands, both arms, both legs, 2 doctors, 3 nurses) after being told the only place that works is the back of the hand.....

Sending a baby home with substantial difficulty breathing, that is back less than 8 hours later having stopped breathing completely........

Trying to tell a parent that just because your 2 year old son isn't able to speak, focus their eyes, or stay awake isn't a concern with a head injury.......

...but by the same token, I've seen others in there for what appears to be of little concern - indeed many turn around and leave before being seen.
 
The amount of elderly who rock up to hospitals or call up the ambos complaining of 'chest pain' or 'breathing difficulty' and etc, but are just looking for a bit of company too would also frustrate the hell out of hospital staff.
 
exactly Can opener - hence my reluctance in #1 above. (though I'm not elderly). When I apologised to the ambos, they said it was their 14th call of the night, and the first they'd taken back to A&E - the rest being minor cuts, headaches, and chest pain.
 
I had my first hospital experience last year due to a fracture and that was an eye opener. From what I saw I reckon public hospital wards are doubling as old age homes. Won't say too much but lots of old women and lots of reluctance to leave. They employ people who bribe them with offers of home care service to get them to leave. Can't sleep at night because of the whinging and moaning echoing throughout the ward, and the bloody machines that go *BING*!
 

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