Absolutely useless emergency department staff. Fir...

Absolutely useless emergency department staff. Firstly, there were roughly 55-60 people in the emergency room with only 1 nurse that was doing the initial write ups of each patient; while numerous people had to stand in line in an "emergency room" and listen to another staff member constantly remind everyone that exits are being blocked due to the growing lineup. The exits would not be blocked if an adequate amount of staff was working.

I came in with an elderly individual who was suffering from breathing problems due to an allergic reaction from a prescribed drug. After waiting in line and then being questioned over 4 times on how the individual is feeling at the current moment, we were told by the nurse that the individual has nothing wrong with them - a clear sign that we are not on any priority lists to be seen by a doctor within a reasonable time frame. We did not receive any info as to when we could see a doctor, we only knew that it would be "sometime today" - again, this is all meanwhile the individual is having difficulty breathing.

What kind of medical training must one receive in order to tell an individual who clearly has an issue breathing that there is nothing wrong with them? At which point would these staff actually consider a person to need emergency assistance? Clearly an allergic reaction with the potential to suffocate a person is not an emergency. It seems that an individual has to quite literally be on the brink of death in order for these staff members to lift a finger. It is very clear that these medical "professionals" do not care for anything other than swiping your OHIP card. Judging by the reviews made by others, it seems that these sub-par medical professionals have been disregarding patients in a similar way for the past while.