I would like to quote a note from a critically ill...

I would like to quote a note from a critically ill patient. "At least you can wait.The scariest thing is when you are rushed passed all the people in the waiting room because you are seconds/minutes away from death. I wish they told me to wait. "
IF YOU ARE WAITING IN EMERGENCY FOR A LONG TIME, IT'S BECAUSE YOU CAN. BE THANKFUL YOU ARE ABLE TO WAIT.
As a nurse, I am sorry for the wait times. At the same time, you don't see the people who do not wait, who are rushed in unresponsive, who the doctor/nurse that you are about to yell at is trying to save. We treat by priority. If you are able to go to a walk in clinic or urgent care centre please go there first. If you are unable to breathe, you are having a heart attack, or you are experience some type of life threatening illness in that moment, then come to the emergency room.

Here is a note from an emergency room Doctor:
"Sometimes healthcare workers walk in to see someone new and before even introducing themselves, out comes; We ve been sitting here for 45 minutes and . . . or That guy next door has been moaning forever and nobody is helping him. You literally had to direct yourself 100% at someone grappling with death, and the rest of the show goes on around you. There s times where you run, and rush, and hurry, and skip eating, and go 12 hours without urinating, and you d give your firstborn for a cup of water, and through it all, you lose, you get complained to, and you get zero sympathy from your coworkers or management. I ve been covered in phlegm, urine, feces, blood, infectious drainage, sweat, and tears. I ve had to go from ensuring a person continues to breathe, to a room full of angry people because grandma wanted a Tylenol and the call light has been on for 10 minutes, and we re going to another hospital, and we want another doctor, and this place is getting a call to the administration, and I m going to call a lawyer, and I m calling channel 6 news, and we know so-and-so and he s going to hear about this."

So once again, I would like to say, I am sorry about the wait times...but BE THANKFUL YOU CAN WAIT.