A West Island woman who went for an emergency X-ray at Lakeshore General Hospital (LGH) last November recently found out that she did, in fact, have a fractured ankle — four months after her emergency room visit.
The Beaconsfield resident claims she was rudely sent home and denied a doctor’s note after her ER visit last fall.
The mother of three fell and injured her ankle while working out on Nov. 16, 2018. Oubouchou says she waited two days before heading to the emergency room and later filed a complaint with the hospital alleging poor treatment and what she calls a lack of compassion by the ER doctor.
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“I was told I didn’t have a fracture and was told that somebody will read my radio (X-ray) to confirm it,” Oubouchou told Global News.
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The avid runner claims that following her complaint, the same ER doctor called four months after her initial visit to inform her of the fracture. Oubouchou says she was told it was likely an old fracture that had occurred long before her November accident.
“She said I did have a mini fracture but obviously it was old, (which) I don’t believe because I’m a runner. I run even 21 kilometres and I never had any issues with my feet,” Oubouchou said.
Despite allegedly being dismissed by the hospital, the 54-year-old suspected that something was seriously wrong. Oubouchou says her ankle was severely swollen and she couldn’t put pressure on it without feeling excruciating pain. She says she went ahead and consulted an osteopath and a physiotherapist, who advised her to purchase a walking cast and crutches.
“I have a friend who had this, and she was immobilized for six weeks,” she said.
Oubouchou said she filed an initial complaint with the hospital over the doctor’s attitude and now plans on filing another over the long delay for her X-ray results.
“I’m worried about others because I’m told there’s no radiologist,” Oubouchou said.
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The LGH wouldn’t comment on this specific case, citing patient confidentiality, but a spokesperson told Global News that it’s unusual for patients to wait four months for X-ray results considering there are four radiologists working every day and one on call overnight for life-or-death emergencies.
“It was a Sunday night,” Oubouchou said. “If they could just answer why it took four months, that’s my only question to them.”
Oubouchou says her ankle is still sore and weak, but she counts herself lucky to have been treated and taken seriously by other health-care professionals. Her partner is counting the days until she’s back on track and they’re able to run more half-marathons together.
“It’s not acceptable for this hospital or any hospital,” said Richard Francoeur. “We have a very healthy lifestyle so she needs her legs.”
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