3 years ago
Today, June 05th, I went to the Kent ER on South S...
Today, June 05th, I went to the Kent ER on South State Street. I was sent over by my PCP for dehydration and treatment for salmonella contracted from undercooked chicken. I arrived at 10:30 am and was not addressed until 3:30 pm when I went to the sign-in desk to ask why I was still sitting in the waiting room when people who had come in up to 2 hours after me had been taken to rooms. *Might I add that your system is more than flawed. They were calling the same name for hours when they had either been taken to a room, were with another medical professional or left to go to Milford. I would hope that an ER of your size would have a much more efficient way of documenting where patients are than what I witnessed today.
Regardless, my reported symptoms upon arrival at 10:30 were: chest pains, chronic vomiting and diarrhea since 06/01, lightheadedness, headache, muscle cramps, abdominal cramps, and blurred vision (all classic symptoms for dehydration alone). When I addressed your hospital director and other staff members, I was told that I was not considered emergent and to sit down. When I showed the young woman at the sign-in that my hands had turned dark purple and that the cramps in my hands were so bad I could not straighten my fingers out, she got the attention of your less than sympathetic and empathetic hospital director, Sandee. Again, I was told it was not an emergency and that she would check my vitals for changes since my hands were visibly dark purple.
Forty-five minutes later, Sandee emerged from her desk to take my vitals and told me that since I "only" had a stomachache, I was not an emergency (despite my obvious physical symptoms). I reiterated what my symptoms were and she told me that is not what she had documented and that I was not in an emergency situation. It wasn't until I asked her if chest pains alone were an emergency on top of the aforementioned symptoms of lightheadedness, blurred vision, muscle cramps, abdominal cramps, vomiting/diarrhea since 06/01 and headache. After 5 hours, I got the required EKG for any patient complaining of chest pains. I ended up leaving and going elsewhere for medical care.
I was not apologized to by anyone in this hospital, except for Crystal, the professional who administered the EKG. She gave me more information in 5 minutes than anyone in the hospital gave me in 5 hours. This is more than disappointing and unacceptable. I was not treated as a patient in need, but rather a nuisance to Sandee. I realize you are servicing a lot of people and probably running on a skeleton staff, but when a patient comes in with the symptoms I that presented with, they need to be documented correctly, I do not need to be told I am the one reporting my symptoms incorrectly (I am the one experiencing the symptoms, I should know), and I deserve respect and sympathy. Your staff is not the only ones with trying jobs, but if they are going to service a large population on a daily basis, they might want to set their self-righteous, "I'm better than you" attitudes aside. Without this population, people like Sandee would not have a job.
In addition, I did receive medical attention elsewhere and it turns out that I am severely dehydrated and have salmonella.