Man’s trip to hospital turns into An ordeal
Man ignored in urine-soaked hospital bed for hours, says no one responded to him
SASKATOON Terry Wulff couldn’t hold it any longer.
In his weakened state, he lifted a nearly-full urine container to try to use it to relieve himself. He says he had called for help and waited as long as he could for Royal University Hospital’s emergency room staff to assist him.
The container spilled urine all over Wulff, covering him from his shoulder down. He says he yelled out again for help in the early morning of Nov. 5, but no one came and he ended up lying in his own urine for nearly three hours.
Wulff said he isn’t considering a lawsuit or similar action — he’s not speaking out for personal gain.
“I want to make sure that some poor guy that comes behind me doesn’t go through what I went through,” he said.
It all started when Wulff awoke at 2 a.m. and nearly fainted in the hallway of his home. He woke his wife Janine, who took the 64-yearold to the emergency room, where he was soon attended to by a nurse who helped him stay upright in an ER wheelchair.
The emergency room seemed quiet, less busy than he’s seen it previously, he said.
Wulff was given a room and doctors ran tests. He was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection, but his sodium, potassium, magnesium and electrolyte levels were abnormal. His health has been an ongoing concern — his gall bladder was removed in May, and other stomach-related problems came up more recently, he said.
He was placed on a two-iv drip, one giving him antibiotics, magnesium and sodium, and the other giving him liquids, he said. He faded in and out of consciousness, but the treatment started to take effect. Around 4 a.m., he told Janine she should go home to rest.
The problems started after she left. Wulff said he filled the two- or three-litre urine container within about 40 minutes and began to call out for help. He said he looked for a call button, but could not find one, so he kept yelling out to anyone at the nurses’ station, about 13 steps away.
“At that point, I noticed that nobody was paying any attention, and my curtain was opened wide enough I could see the nursing station and I could see the clock on the wall. So I waited, and then I yelled out again,” he said.
Several moments later, he saw a doctor start using a nearby computer workstation, so he asked him for assistance, but the doctor told him “we’re really busy, we’ll get to it,” Wullf said. After the doctor left, he looked out at the nurses’ station and saw two nurses talking, but they didn’t respond when he called out, he said.
He lay there for another hour, but could not hold on any longer. He called for help, but no one came. That’s when he decided to move the container, which spilled. When he called out for help again, and no one came. Wulff said he waited another 30 minutes, grew cold and started to shiver.
“I think it’s the most uncomfortable, indignant thing I’ve ever been through in my whole life,” he said.
Wulff grew angry and started to swear. He sat up and yelled that he was leaving the hospital. A nurse then confronted him, asking him what he was doing, and insisted he couldn’t leave, he said. He tore off his heart monitor wires and told her to call his wife and his lawyer, asking her if she would take out the IVS. He pulled out one of the IVS and started to bleed.
A security guard came and hospital staff called Janine, who returned to the hospital. Janine said she saw her husband sitting on a chair beside the bed, already dressed. She said a doctor met with her and said her husband should stay in the hospital. After she went into the room to talk to Wulff and he told her what happened, she checked him out of the hospital and took him home to shower and change.
Around 8 a.m., Janine took him to City Hospital, where doctors continued his treatment until he was released that night. Wulff praised the care he received at City Hospital.
Two days later, he wrote an email to Premier Scott Moe. Attached to the response was a letter signed by Moe, which he shared with the Starphoenix.
Saskatchewan Health Authority spokeswoman Amanda Purcell declined to comment specifically about the incident, citing the Health Information Privacy Act. She acknowledged that wait times and patient flow in emergency departments is a “complex matter” and said it’s a priority for the health authority.
In an email, Health Minister Jim Reiter told the Starphoenix his office is “working to address” Wulff ’s concerns.
“Delivering high quality and safe care is a priority of the health system. We take all concerns seriously, and in collaboration with health system partners look at ways to improve patient care,” Reiter stated.
Wulff said what happened to him is “beyond unacceptable.”
“I don’t want some changes made, I want immediate changes made, and I want these people held responsible. I don’t want them fired. We need them. They ’re trained. The dollars that have been spent to give them these jobs, these positions, this education. But what they do need is an attitude adjustment and some more training.”