A Fredericton couple says their son was treated inhumanely while waiting to see a doctor in the emergency room at the Doctor Everett Chalmers Hospital.
Parents Omar and Jaclyn Ali say they spent more than six hours waiting to see a physician after their three-year-old son, Laith, dislocated his arm.
The Alis say their son cried and screamed in severe pain in the emergency room waiting area for hours without any relief or assistance — now they plan on filing an official complaint with Horizon Health.
“That helpless feeling is probably the most frustrating feeling in the world,” Omar said.
READ MORE: New Brunswick couple allegedly told to call 911 after arriving at hospital
Jaclyn says the experience was heartbreaking. She believes a nurse should have provided Laith with some sort of pain medication or stabilized his arm.
Get weekly health news
The Alis say it was obvious that their son was in agony and say security told them to sit patiently or leave the hospital.
“After hours and hours of this, it just started to feel really inhumane and almost like an animal wouldn’t even be treated this way,” Jaclyn said.
READ MORE: New Brunswick health network hears from public on patient experience
In an email statement to Global News, Fredericton-area Horizon Health Network executive director Nicole Tupper says:
“All patients presenting to the Emergency Room Department will be seen by a triage nurse and assessed based on the CTAS Levels. CTAS criteria are a mandatory data element to be used in all Canadian Hospital Emergency Departments for reporting to the Canadian Institute for Health Information. These levels range from Level 1 being major trauma to Level 5 being non-urgent. This system rapidly identifies patients with life-threatening conditions, prioritizes patient care requirements, ensuring the sickest patients are seen first. All patients in the waiting room can be re-assessed at any time, at which time their triage level may change.”
Omar says he understands the protocol, but he says children who are clearly experiencing severe pain should be an exception to the rule.
He says staff at the hospital told him wait times also change depending on the types of emergencies that come into the hospital by ambulance.
Omar says if there’s another ER trip needed, he plans on calling 911 instead.
“Is that the only time that we’re ever going to get looked after? That’s the only time we’re going to get the call that we need?” Omar said.
The family plans on filing an official complaint in the coming weeks. They say they hope to raise awareness and prevent other children from having to experience the same thing.
Comments