crappy service at ER

[chixie]

I am pretty sure I broke my arm...it is was=y deformed... I went to the emergancy room... my Blood pressure was up 155/101(never have high blood pressure) and they were worried aboutr thatFor like 5 minutes... they did xrays.. and told me that it is just sprained,, they did not wrap it the did not take vitals before iI left(i used to be an emt and I know they are suposed to take vitals before releasing) and they were not busy(only 3 other people there) and they treated me like I was stupid for even being there...I am asumming its because I have no insurance...I will be going to my doctor tomorrow and also filing a complaint.. this is actually our better hospital-never been treated this way before

 

[gritsar]

I'm sorry for your injury.
We have two hospitals local to us; one is 15 minutes away, the other is 45 minutes away. I wouldn't take a dying dog to the closer one.

 

[chixie]

My whole family uses this hospital the only complaint was when my 7 year old nephew broke his foot ( i think the same physicians assistant) they told him it wasn't broke and he was running and playing on it for a week until we noticed a huge not formed ontop of his foot ook him to his doctor and it was broke and was healing and the not was calcium deposit... the specialist said she couldn't believe the hospital mis diagnosed his injury

 

[chickabator]

my dd broke her arm fell off of a trampoline had to have emergancy surgery for it . greenstick break and the bone just about came through the skin. well anyway a year later she fell off of the stage at school and had a huge purple knot come up on it and we rushed her back to the er. they did an x-ray said it was not broke 2 weeks later I get a phone call at work and it was the hospital and said mrs------ you need to bring amanda back in so we can re x-ray her arm they x-rayed the wrong part and we can see a partial break in the bone at the top of the xrayI called her pediatrician and they said that after that long the bone would be just about healed all the way so i took her to him he xrayed and it was broke again right down below where she had broke it before. he said it was almost healed up and to just keep it in the splint wrapped in an ace bandage.

 

[chixie]

Hubby is out getting me a splint.. I think they need to train the doctors and techs a little better.... I just want to sit down and cry because it hurts so bad and now I have a headache... and I was told to just take ibuprofin every 6 hours... its my right arm and guess what I am right handed...oh joy to be me right now...sorry jut my own personal pitty party...... I will be alright... I think I am gonna go back to bed and pull the covers over my head and ignore everthing around me for a little while

 

[rhoda_bruce]

If I were the nurse in this situation, I would have told my patient that the bloodpressure was a little higher than I would like, but that I am assuming that they are in pain and after we know more about the injury and settle the pain down a bit, I will recheck the BP and I'm sure it will be lower, then even when the X-rays are negative for any fractures I would have to give them an arm band at the very least and ask the doctor to allow me to administer a Vicodin and recheck the BP about a half hour later......note an improvement and decide upon some discharge instructions. I mean, it is a business and if they are unsatisfied with me, they will take their business elsewhere and my name will be possibly remembered and my reputation as a nurse will be soiled.

 

[barred-rocks-rock]

I broke my arm, and they said that it was just a sprain. They called the next day and said, Which orthopedic do you want?
We thought it wasnt broken but doctor ******* ( im not saying his name) is taking a class to read x rays.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Breaks can certainly be mis-diagnosed--my mother broke her foot in a fall and urgent care said it was sprained--when she got home and went to her doctor, he re-xrayed and said it was broken. If you already have experience that the PA has made mistakes on broken bones, I would go back and ask that the xray be reviewed by someone else, and I would probably insist that they show it to me so that I could look. I am assuming that with no insurance they required that you pay cash for treatment, so you are entitled to this. If they balk, mention the previous misdiagnosis by the same PA and mention the words "malpractice."

 

[cluckychick]

Took my son to the ER once with a broken arm. He wasn't in that much pain actually. He is VERY afraid of needles. He's 6'0 and weighs 250 lbs, I guess the nurse had no sympathy because he was a boy and a big one at that. She comes waltzing in with a shot of morphine and told him to rollover. I told her not to let him see the needle cuz he would faint. He started to climb across the bed and get out. She proceeded to tell him to stop acting like a baby. I came unglued and told her to leave and find another nurse or she was going to be needing a doctor worse than he was. He got the shot but not from her. Then he had a local reaction to it and his butt swelled up, lol.

I also had a brother who left the ER with a broken arm. It ended up never healing correctly even after he got a fiberglass cast put on and the cast ended up giving him 2nd degree chemical burns.

Some caregivers need a lessons in their people skills and I have no problem telling them that. If they can't have sympathy then they need a new profession like sewer inspector or something.

Sorry about your arm.

 

[froggie71]

I once broke my finger and the ER took xrays and said it wasn't broken. When it was turning purple and swelling my mom took me to an orthopedic with the very same x-rays. He saw the break right away. If you can take the xrays to an orthopedic you may very well get a different diagnosis than what they said in the ER.