Icy reception
Rural emergency room provides no help to man as he goes into shock in parking lot
A 70-year-old man delirious with pain after falling on black ice got an icy reception when he sought aid from a hospital emergency room in eastern P.E.I.
Instead of helping his frantic wife, Sherry Wilson, staff at the Kings County Memorial Hospital in Montague said it was “against protocol to intervene” as Arch Wilson, going into shock from the accident, was slumped against their pickup truck outside the facility’s main door.
“It was appalling treatment,” said Sherry. “The people in the hospital said something about protocols and not being allowed to help us. They wouldn’t even call for an ambulance . . . all they did was offer a wheelchair.” Her husband could barely stand. He laid face down in the truck’s backseat for nearly half an hour as his wife sped to the Montague hospital.
“They just wouldn’t help us,” Arch Wilson told TC Media from his home near Souris, where he is now recovering. “We were told that I had to get into the hospital under my own steam, but I couldn’t even move.”
In a statement, Health P.E.I. said it is reviewing the situation, meeting with staff to identify ways to be more helpful and reviewing procedures on how to respond. “We fully understand the concerns of this couple and we regret the experience,’’ Health P.E.I. said in a statement. “We are reviewing procedures on how staff should respond to
Arch Wilson is shown at his home. non-life threatening injuries or incidents.”
Health P.E.I. chief executive officer Michael Mayne made no excuses when TC Media called for a response to the Wilson’s claims. He sought out the couple and personally phoned them to apologize for the treatment.
“Seemed like a nice bloke,’’ said Wilson, who was born in England. “I was glad he called and he made no excuses and said he was equally horrified by the situation.” The active marathon skier and hiker said he and his wife decided to drive to the emergency room on Good Friday because they didn’t want to burden the system. “We didn’t call the ambulance because we thought someone might really need it or it might get stuck down our long lane . . . I figured if we got to the emergency department, they’d fix me up.”
Instead, he said, what they faced was a lack of compassion. “Here was a drama unfolding on their doorstep, but their policy seems to be to ignore it until it goes away. It’s a pretty sad state of affairs.”
It was just after 2 p.m. when the couple arrived at the hospital and welcomed the assistance of two older women and a man who stopped his truck to provide aid in the parking lot. Those assisting the couple saw the ambulance pull into the EMS station directly across the street from the Kings County Memorial Hospital. The paramedics administered pain killers to Wilson and took the man to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown for treatment.
“I’ve got nothing but praise for the paramedics and the people at the QEH.”
But the chilling experience has raised the Wilsons’ concern about the state of decline in rural health care, especially since they don’t have a family doctor. “I don’t want anyone to have to go through that,’’ he said. “We love it here, but when you are trying to attract retired people to move to the Island, the first thing they are going to ask about is health care.” Wilson said he has a few words for Health Minister Robert Henderson and hopes the politician drops in for a cup of tea one day.
“I would tell the health minister he doesn’t have a clue what it’s like to live under the threat of what we’ve put up with for the past 10 days.”