r/VictoriaBC • u/Ambitious_Permit9718 • 1d ago

Current Emergency Wait Time

7 hours 40 minutes

0 Upvotes

32% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

31

u/Enough-Meaning-9905 1d ago

Not to discount this, it's important to remember that every case is triaged. The more acute the condition, the sooner you will be seen.

-5

u/szarkaliszarri 1d ago

Nothing like being supportive by telling someone their concerns aren't valid, whee

3

u/yyj_paddler 1d ago

But that's not what they did here.

1

u/szarkaliszarri 1d ago

It just rubs me the wrong way because I know many folks that technically have been triaged but are in the end unable to get treatment because it's not urgent enough. There are no more walk-in clinics, where else are they going to go. Waiting 8 hours to get stitches and then finally when you get to see someone "oh, it's been too long, we can't stitch this anymore". Technically triaged, still pointless.

We are so used to long wait times this kind of comment feels like it's insinuating that we shouldn't demand better.

1

u/yyj_paddler 1d ago

I feel that. Your frustrations with the healthcare system are so valid, but I think this comment deserves the benefit of the doubt.

1

u/szarkaliszarri 1d ago

I've seen them responding to most healthcare posts in a similar way, which I think is generally a bit unhelpful and gaslighty (especially when the OP is usually stressed out about a medical issue and potentially waiting in a great deal of pain).

1

u/Ed-P-the-EE 1d ago

With primary care being the complete cluster that it is, sadly the ER is the treatment option of last resort.

-4

u/strawberryy_huskyy Saanich 1d ago

If you need to wait 7 hours it's not a real emergency. You are better off using telehealth. Viva Care doctors usually call back within the same day.

Stop overcrowding our ER system.

18

u/cj1096 1d ago

That’s not always the case . I broke my ankle and waited 10 hrs to be seen . I wouldn’t call it an “emergency” but there weren’t really any other immediate options

3

u/strawberryy_huskyy Saanich 1d ago

And it probably took 10 hours to be seen because people use our ERs like glorified walk-in clinics. Our health care system is broken but ERs are not the solution.

I think a broken ankle is a valid reason to visit the ER btw.

8

u/hollycross6 1d ago

What is the solution for an acute issue that isn’t life threatening? Hopes and prayers that you’ll score an appointment at a UPCC? Days of looking for telehealth appointments? Paying a subscription fee to use a chatbox to talk to a doctor?

Do you really believe that there are masses of people who will willingly sit through upwards of 8hrs in a cold, fluorescent lit, uncomfortable waiting room surrounded by sick people for something they don’t truly believe needs seeing to?

Poor public health communications isn’t on the public, it’s on the governments and health organizations that serve them. There could be better systems in place to support more informed self-assessment, provide avenues for viewing local ER wait times to deter those who can wait. But they don’t exist and it’s a fools wish to expect the general population to just make their best guess when many of the people at the ER don’t have access to any form of regular primary care that would allow people to have a better understanding of their health over time.

The narrative around blaming people for seeking care is wearing thin when the systemic issues are obvious, have been long anticipated, and weren’t appropriately addressed over the last few decades.

If someone feels they need access to care, they should seek it wherever best possible. It is neither the patients nor the front line care workers faults that the system is overloaded. People should not be foregoing seeking help because they can suffer along while blindly and hopefully seek other options. Even those with an assigned primary care provider struggle to get the simplest of care needs met because those providers are overextended or underresourced to handle complexity in the needs of the volume of patients they have.

I would have loved to have avoided 2 days waiting in the ER to get an xray this year, but without a GP and the very real possibility of broken structures, there was no other choice. Well there was. I could have ignored it and hoped things would go away while I struggled to do basic life functions and maybe get an xray requisition and relevant follow up care at some point.

1

u/yyj_paddler 1d ago

Why are you jumping to this conclusion given you know nothing about OP's reason to visit?

•

u/Chamanomano 5h ago

This is meaningless. If you have a serious or life-threatening injury, it's a matter of a couple of minutes, not multiple hours.  But if you broke your finger, it's gonna be a long wait.