COLLINS – ER Protocols at Royal Inland Hospital need a second look
THE RECENT death of a long-time Kamloops doctor in the emergency department waiting room at Royal Inland Hospital has prompted much discussion.
Doctor Rajinder Joneja passed away after an initial assessment, but while waiting to get into the ER proper. An investigation has found that all the protocols were followed and that no one was to blame for the doctor’s death. And that’s good news. Doesn’t make the situation any better for the doctor’s family, nor for the staff who had to deal with the situation.
But perhaps the real question shouldn’t be whether the protocols were followed, but whether or not they were the right protocols. The way things are in the ER right now, you could die before the triage nurse even gets a chance to see you, let alone determine how quickly you should receive treatment.
ArmchairMayor.ca 
I was phoned last Wednesday afternoon , saying I was to get into RIH as soon as possible , I was to go to emergency,where they would be awaiting me to have an emergency procedure done that night.. Arrived about 6 pm , waited about 3 hrs – onto outpatient stretcher then –NOTHING Untill late evening next day, told it would be morning… Overnight again , taken up to my floor next morning, ready for treatment BUT they had not done anything yet .Finally allowed a bowl of cherios, and prepped … Treatment started Saturday morning.
RIH -LEFT HAND HAS NO IDEA WHAT RIGHT HAND IS DOING .. Truly as joke.
LikeLike
I think the issue of standing in line for 20 minutes to 2 hours waiting for triage is unacceptable and reflects terribly on RIH’s fabulous staff as well as the reputation of RIH, IHA and the city of Kamloops. This is a fixable problem. Create a policy where people entering the emergency doors will wait a maximum of 5 minutes to be triaged. Also have people take a numbered ticket and then sit in the waiting room. Standing in line, shuffling along while feeling ill is unsafe for patients and is an extremely uncaring experience. RIH do something about this and put the caring back in healthcare.
LikeLike
The almost exact thing happened to my husbands aunt. She came stating she believed she was having a heart attack. Vital signs were taken and asked to take a seat and she did eventhough she was experiencing chest tightness and discomfort to her arm and neck and stated so earlier. One hour later her husband approached the desk and told the nurse she NEEDED to be seen. They took her 20 minutes later….the delay = viable heart tissue. She was infact having an MI. RIDICULOUS.
LikeLike
There needs to be more clinics for people to get their renewals at during the day, nurse practitioners could do most of this . We need more doctors for sure to staff these clinics. The gov’t put caps on how many patients a day that doctors can see, this needs to be stopped until we have more doctors. People need to be educated that the flu or a cold is not an acceptable reason to go to the ER, or the clinic for that matter. Stay home, and power through it, there’s nothing a doctor can do for you. And for sure, the triage system needs to be changed so that the people that need the ER urgently are looked after first instead of having to wait.
LikeLike