NBC 30 Investigates Overcrowded Emergency Rooms

In an emergency, every second counts. But, if you find yourself in an emergency room in Connecticut , some residents say you better be prepared to wait for several hours.

[SUSAN]

After reading the article the one thing that jumps out just where would someone go if sick? No insurance, bill? It becomes so easy just to go to the hospital. They are kind enough to make pay arrangements where most office visits don't. Usually it's money first, then be seen. Also, I only know of one satallite office from where I live and luckily it is part of Yale otherwise I have no idea where to go if it is after hours. We will never be ready for a crisis until we have adequate facilities to pretreat then send to the hospital. That was how it was for me. They evaluated, administered and then sent me to the hospital from there. I'm sure a certain percentage of the graphs shown would eliminate so many going straight to the ER

[fred]

SUSAN wrote:

After reading the article the one thing that jumps out just where would someone go if sick? No insurance, bill? It becomes so easy just to go to the hospital. They are kind enough to make pay arrangements where most office visits don't. Usually it's money first, then be seen. Also, I only know of one satallite office from where I live and luckily it is part of Yale otherwise I have no idea where to go if it is after hours. We will never be ready for a crisis until we have adequate facilities to pretreat then send to the hospital. That was how it was for me. They evaluated, administered and then sent me to the hospital from there. I'm sure a certain percentage of the graphs shown would eliminate so many going straight to the ER

The problem with your reasoning is that a majority of people that go to the ER for routine illnesses. They inturn default on their bill and as a result we have higher insurance premiums...That is why we need a national healthcare system! So everyone can pay their own fair share of the liabilities!

[Need for more ERs]

In the Hartford area we've been without one ER for many years (that being Mt. Sinai). The sure doesn't help matters. Expansions help but we just need more RNs and more ERs/Trauma Centers in the metropolitan areas.

[Lisa]

I know all about the wait time. I tried going to the ER last week. For severe abdominal pains. they told me it was a six hour wait. So I went home to suffer. I m not waiting that long. It was 9:30 at night and there was that long wait. I went back the next night and waited an hour. to find out I might have gallstones. anyway...Its ridiculus

[cat]

i work in an ED, and this is no new news. over 60% of our daily visits are NOT emergencies, but issues that could be adressed by personal physicians, but we have become a "i don't want to wait for anything" society. i've actually had people get angry and abusive when they have to wait for the doctor who is attending to a cardiac arrest! our ED's have become clinics, often "free clinics" because lots of people don't have insurance and doctors,and thus you wait in line with everyone else, and DO expect to be "bumped" for true emergencies. also, all ED's are flooded with the social ills, like drunks (it is an "illness" to be drunk in public), and the mentally ill, who were tossed out on the streets with little or no support systems and money, who present over and over and over when they can't cope with life. the story tells you to "call ahead" to see about wait time. what a crock! no ED will give you a waiting time estimate, as it could change drastically in a heartbeat. take my advice... if you have a doctor, see him/her in a non emergency. stay away from the ED. if your doctor can't see you in a timely manner, then it's time to get a new doctor. and don't think that by coming by ambulance for minor complaints will get you seen sooner. once you hit the ED, you are assessed, and if its minor, you could be sent right to the waiting room anyway, and you've really made us think little of you. we will take good care of EVERYONE who shows up at our door, but the public needs to get real about expectations of our healthcare system.

[6079smithw]

Here in the West the illegals use ERs as a free clinic and as a result the waiting rooms look like daycare at a border crossing... talk about overloading the system!

[cat]

EVERY type of person uses the ED like a clinic..... from the poor, insuranceless, to the entitled wealthy. and hospital management almost encourages it. most health systems track "customer satisfation" as the holy grail. it's not about patient care, it's about market share.