Christos Lianos, 20, suffered from severe abdominal pain and a high fever last month. He had been unwell for several days, but on the night of June 14 his condition worsened.
He then called his parents, residents of Kingston, who urged him to get to the hospital as soon as possible for fear of appendicitis.
Over the next 15 hours, nurses at the hospital, which is part of the McGill University Health Center (MUHC), examined him twice to assess his symptoms and gave him Tylenol every six hours to relieve pain. pain, according to the family.
His mother, Niki Lianos, then says she lost patience and yelled at the nurse if she had known they would be waiting so long they would have gone back to Kingston to have her son treated.
The nurse then told her to take her there. After a three-hour drive to the Royal Victoria Hospital, the family learned that Christos’ appendix had ruptured.
“If I had gone home or stayed in the waiting room for any length of time, what could have happened to me? »
— A quote from Christos Lianos
Mr. Lianos stayed in the hospital for about ten days, mostly in intensive care.
Christos Lianos is recovering, but his mother wants to warn people about wait times at Montreal hospitals.
Photo: Courtesy of Niki Lianos
We took the risk and it’s the biggest risk we’ve ever taken in our lives because [son appendice] could have broken on the street, says Niki Lianos. Then what would we have done?
She now wants to warn people about wait times in Montreal hospitals and the danger they can pose.
Many clinics are closed in the summer or have reduced opening hours, says Dr. Judy Morris, President of the Association of Emergency Physicians of Quebec (AMUQ). This is leading to many more people going to the emergency room for treatment and then leaving without an evaluation.
These patients can be ticking time bombs because they leave when they might have something serious, she says.
The hospital was overwhelmed, MUHC says
However, by the evening of June 14, the emergency room at the Glen site was packed, according to MUHC spokeswoman Rebecca Burns.
Two doctors worked the night of June 14/15, she said in an email, and three doctors were on duty the next day, along with a medical coordinator, which is a normal staffing level.
However, as of June 14, the ER was at 197% occupancy and more than 30 patients from the previous day had not yet been treated.
These patients were given priority treatment or had been there for a long time, said the spokeswoman. The following day, ER occupancy was around 200% and peaked at 225%.
The situation only improved the following night, Ms Burns said. In such circumstances, it is difficult to ensure optimal care, even when working at maximum efficiency.
A patient will receive a call from the emergency room if they leave the scene of an accident without first seeing a doctor, she said.
This is not a call to see a doctor, but a log to ensure that the patient could be treated or, if necessary, referred to a clinic.
Almost every eighth patient left the center without being seen during this period.
We have an average of 130 visits per day. As a result, our nurses call back an average of 17 patients a day, Burns says.
We call three times if the patient is not reached immediately and then send a letter if the nurse thinks the patient needs follow-up blood or x-ray results.
With information from Sara Eldabaa