Too long to wait
Je Hiltz waited more than two hours for return call on his mother’s condition
A Springhill man says the 811 medical help system failed him when he had a question about his mother’s deteriorating health and it took two hours for a response.
Je Hiltz had heard 811 was the place to turn for a health-related question during a time of need.
The Springhill man was disappointed the system failed him recently when he had a question about his mother’s deteriorating health.
He says it took more than two hours for a nurse to call him back when he was originally told the wait should be 30 minutes to an hour.
“It was a huge disappointment,” Hiltz said.
“I’m not sure how much this system costs, but to me it’s a waste of money because it’s not there when you need it.”
Hiltz’s 83- year- old mother, Doreen, was struggling with a bad cold and he’d noticed her cough was getting worse.
She has multiple sclerosis, is pretty much bed-ridden and lives with Hiltz and his wife.
Knowing there wasn’t a doctor available on March 3 at All Saints Hospital, and how long the wait can be at the regional hospital in Amherst, Hiltz called the provincial 811 system to get some advice on how to proceed.
“With her being bed-ridden I was looking for some direction on what to do. I really didn’t want her to have to sit in a wheelchair for hours in Amherst,” Hiltz said.
“When I rst got up Saturday morning I checked on her and her cough wasn’t as bad so I thought she might be getting better. As the afternoon went on I felt it was starting to get worse so I called 811. I didn’t want to take her to a hospital if I didn’t have to with
the viruses going around and the challenge of taking her to the hospital myself.”
When he called 811, the person who answered took his information and said someone would call back within 30 minutes to an hour.
When the time passed with no return call, he decided to act and took her to the hospital in Pugwash, where there was a doctor on call.
She was assessed there and quickly shipped by ambulance to the Cumberland Regional Health Care Centre where she was admitted with pneumonia.
Her condition deteriorated through the weekend and she was taken to hospital in Halifax to have a temporary pacemaker put into her chest.
e procedure was successful and her condition has improved, although she is still a patient in the ICU at the regional facility.
While he was at the Pugwash hospital with his mother, the return call from 811 nally came.
He thinks the money spent on 811 would be better used in recruiting more doctors for rural areas of the province.
“To me, it was useless,” he said. Tracy Barron from the Health and Wellness Department said 811 is a non-emergency, 24/7 health service with response times that vary based on the urgency of the call and call volume. Some callers will wait longer than others based on the acuity of the call. Higher priority calls are taken rst.
She said the system is currently experiencing longer than normal call-back times.
“ is is due to the introduction of new call-taking software, as well as higher call volumes, acuity of patient symptoms and the impact on sta of the peak u season,” Barron said.
“These are being mitigated to return the service to normal operational levels.”
If all tele-health sta are assisting other callers, she said, they have the option of leaving voice message for a call back within a short amount of time.
“Callers receive an automated voice recording advising that in the case of an emergency, hang up and dial 911. A process is in place to ensure there is no delay in more urgent situations. For emergencies, people should call 911.”
She added 811 has a robust quality system in place to investigate each inquiry.