Interrupted, ignored, dismissed: psychologist urges more patience with patients in N.S. ERs
A newly settled permanent resident in Nova Scotia says a recent experience he had in a Halifax ER is proof the overburdened healthcare system is straining its workers to the breaking point.
Originally from the United States, Doug Silverman is a registered clinical psychologist with a doctorate under his belt, granting him the privilege of using the title.
That came into play during a recent experience he had in an ER.
"I wanted to see if anyone else had a similar experience," Silverman told CTV News.
It was mid-afternoon on a Friday when Silverman went to the ER in Lower Sackville with what seemed to be classic symptoms of a bleeding ulcer.
He'd brought information: a recent history of vitals, even photographs.
"That's why I gave all this information: I don't want to waste the ER's time," said Silverman, "They have more important things to deal with. I’m not dying right now, so please, take my information, let's do the things that I know need to be done, and I'll leave. We'll be done. But that's not what happened."
What did happen over the next nine hours, he says, was disappointing.
During limited interactions with staff, he claims he was interrupted, ignored or outright dismissed.
That extended even with the doctor, he says, who he finally saw just before 9:30 PM.
He was finally dispensed a drug used to treat excess stomach acid and released.
"To be summarily dismissed and then treated by taking Nexium as someone who was seeking pills? It's laughable now; it wasn't then," said Silverman.
So much so, he documented the experience and posted on Reddit, where anonymity is part of the platform.
With 100,000 members in the HRM group, it didn't take long for others to chime in, sharing their own stories, and making the post viral, leading Silverman to one conclusion:
"That healthcare has been more of a 'good luck' (thing), instead of being provided," he said.
The plight of overburdened healthcare workers is well documented in this country and around the world.
Still, certain professional standards apply when dealing with patients.
While not commenting on the specific case, Nova Scotia Health provided an emailed statement.
"We never want patients to feel dismissed or not listened to when they access health care, as trust and rapport are key to any therapeutic relationship," said Senior Content & Media Relations Advisor Krista Keough.
If and when this is not the experience of patients and families in one of our Nova Scotia Health programs, services or facilities, we welcome that feedback through our Patient Relations service.
Any feedback we receive helps us to make improvements for system-level care.
Emergency department clinicians do try and ensure that patient complaints and symptoms are dealt with to the best of their abilities. Sometimes this can be challenging in a busy environment. The actions to improve emergency care that were recently announced are aimed at supporting patients in waiting rooms, and enhancing access to care outside emergency departments, in order to provide care more quickly for more seriously ill patients in our emergency departments," the statement concluded.
It's a sentiment shared by Doctors Nova Scotia, but the organization notes patience is a two-way street.
"The role of the emergency department, really, truly, is to rule out limb or life-threatening illnesses," said the group's president,” Dr. Leisha Hawker, “That being said, patients should still always feel heard, and listened to and that their concerns are being addressed.”
“Whenever I'm seeing a patient, my hope is that, after they go home and talk to loved ones, that they felt heard, that they were able to explain their situation, and that I got it. I understood where they were coming from," said Hawker, adding a patient should first try to deal with the issue directly with the doctor.
If that doesn't work, the matter can be escalated to the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia or the Nova Scotia College of Nursing
For his part, Silverman says his issue was never about specific workers, but the system that's got them to this point.
"When you break them, when that occurs, it really becomes a 'I don't have the time to listen to you right now. I've got so much else to do.' And that's what I got. It wasn't, 'I don't want to.' It was, 'I simply don't have the time,'" said Silverman, "And treat our healthcare workers better. I think that absolutely will down into better healthcare for patients, because I can't believe that people will go into this to be dismissive, to be mean.
"I can't believe that."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.