Mentally-ill patients wait two days in ER, sleep on the floor

[spaminator]

Mentally-ill patients wait two days in ER, sleep on the floor
By Jonathan Sher ,The London Free Press
First posted: Tuesday, March 25, 2014 06:51 PM EDT | Updated: Tuesday, March 25, 2014 07:02 PM EDT
LONDON, Ont. — Mentally-ill patients were left to fend for themselves over the weekend in a London hospital emergency department so overcrowded, they ended up sleeping on the floor.
Six mentally-ill patients were left on chairs for 20 hours in Victoria Hospital while some with physical illnesses were put in beds.
That sort of outcome isn't acceptable, Camille Quenneville, chief executive of the Ontario branch of the Canadian Mental Health Association, said.
"It's alarming. It's unconscionable (they) slept on the floor," she said. "Stigma is public enemy No. 1 because it prevents people from seeking the care they need."
Long waits for hospital beds and crowded emergency rooms have become common in Ontario hospitals.
The London ordeal took a toll on Jenepher Watt, 18, who for five years has worked hard to cope with depression and anxiety.

Mentally-ill patients wait two days in ER, sleep on the floor | Ontario | News | Toronto Sun

 

[Nuggler]

At least they didn't chuck em out in the snow with no shoes, etc......big improvement....Helluva job Brownie

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

They should have put them on a greyhound bus.

Is a mental illness an emergency?

 

[Nuggler]

They should have put them on a greyhound bus.

Is a mental illness an emergency?

Only if one is mentally ill I guess. Relative to the observer ??

 

[Sal]

The big issue here there were not enough beds for the need. What the hell are the ER workers supposed to do? Well they triage. If someone has a broken leg and someone has a mental illness who should get the bed.

Depression and anxiety...terrible things to cope with, but physically they are going to the bottom of the list. Broken leg vs. heart attack, guess who is going to the bottom of the list.


They are making it sound like the mentally ill patients were stigmatized and pushed to the bottom. Maybe some of the staff suffer from anxiety and depression.

Unfair judgement here.

 

[captain morgan]

The big question for me relates to the admissibility of 'mental illness' into an ER to begin with

 

[Sal]

The big question for me relates to the admissibility of 'mental illness' into an ER to begin with

suicidal likely...that's an emergency...you can't let them go until they are assessed.

 

[captain morgan]

I suppose that we would need the details of what condition these patients were in.

All in all, mental illness is an extremely broad category and can really have an application to anyone walking the streets today

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

And a good few online.

And no, that wasn't a shot at you. Just a general comment.

 

[Sal]

this line:

"It's alarming. It's unconscionable (they) slept on the floor," she said. "Stigma is public enemy No. 1 because it prevents people from seeking the care they need."

is misleading as it implies that is why they slept on the floor. IF that really is the reason then those particular medical personal are culpable...it's a load of junk and it's insulting.

They did the best the could under a bad circumstance. If the truth isn't bad enough to sound horrible then the situation isn't as bad as it was made to sound.

 

[MHz]

Are they the ones that didn't complain about the wait?

 

[Sal]

of course the press could have take that particular line out of context too...

 

[captain morgan]

And a good few online.

And no, that wasn't a shot at you. Just a general comment.

I didn't take it as such, but appreciate the added comment nonetheless.

The online presence is likely just an extension of society in general. Perhaps more accurate in that the anonymity of the interweb allows some folk to shed any apprehensions.

 

[Tecumsehsbones]

I didn't take it as such, but appreciate the added comment nonetheless.

The online presence is likely just an extension of society in general. Perhaps more accurate in that the anonymity of the interweb allows some folk to shed any apprehensions.

And just about all the sense they ever had.

 

[petros]

The big question for me relates to the admissibility of 'mental illness' into an ER to begin with

That's where it all starts. Somebody suicidal isn't high priority?