Downtown Hospital
On February 01, 2011, I visited the Emergency Department of a downtown Edmonton hospital. I was feeling suicidal and wanted to hurt myself in any way possible. I was quickly sent off to the Mental Health section the ER. There I saw a Psychiatrist and a resident. They asked me what was going on so I explained. The Psychiatrist and resident then proceeded to tell me that there was nothing they could do. Due to my history, which they did NOT get from me, they said hospitalization was not going to work. The doctor stayed for about five minutes and was then called away. The resident remained to ask more questions.
I had been sent to this hospital by referral from another hospital that did not have psychiatric care. The doctor and resident read my history and made their decisions before talking with me. I never saw the psychiatrist again. The resident asked me about the drugs that I take. She got the list from a computer-generated report of what the pharmacy had recently filled. The resident had written down over four pages of drugs. It concerned me that she had written down each drug two to four times and had not even noticed the duplicate entries. When I brought this to her attention, she was surprised and didn’t seem to know how that happened. When I mentioned there were a couple drugs missing, she acted like she didn’t believe me. I then when on to inform her again that my husband and I were extremely concerned about my safety. She told me that was her main concern also. This was said this with no emotion or concern and it was obvious that she was just trying to pacify me. I was so upset that they were sending me back on the streets with absolutely no help.
The resident told me that they would hook me up with a community program for a few weeks. I was informed that since I live outside Edmonton, it would be my responsibility to come back to the hospital to see them. When I explained that I don’t drive, and that my ride has other commitments, she said that was my problem and not hers. The resident was one of the most dispassionate “professionals” I have ever talked with. What worries me is that this woman already has a medical degree and she now wants to treat a group of people that require a lot of care and compassion.
Once I left the downtown hospital with my husband, I also learned that the Manager of the ER had phoned him to find out where I was. The hospital had lost me. What is the concern with telling the husband of a suicidal wife that she has gone missing? No doubt any things ran through my husband’s head. To top it all off, outside of going to the washroom ONCE, I did not leave my room. I left this hospital very upset and feeling even worse mentally than before I went in.
West End Hospital
The next day, when things were just as bad, I called my family physician. She referred me to a west end hospital because she had previously been very happy with their psychiatric department. At this hospital, my treatment went from bad to worse. Here I was told by the ER doctor that I was 34 years old and should know better. This ER doctor said she was not going to get Psychiatry involved because the downtown hospital had already done a work-up. This confused me since the downtown hospital had NOT done a work-up.
The west end ER doctor then told me that when I get thoughts of harming myself, I should run up and down stairs until my legs burn. Had she asked, she would have found out that this is physically impossible. When I mentioned that I had trouble going to the kitchen as there are knives there, she simply said to stay out of the kitchen. When I explained that my husband was concerned, she said that that was what I wanted, and that I was doing this for attention. She compared me to herself though I forgot to ask her if she also suffered from depression or other mental illness.
When I told her I was impulsive, she told me I WASN’T because if I was I would jump out of a moving vehicle. My thought to this was, “Great! Another way to kill myself.” This so-called professional, although not trained in psychiatry, acted like she knew it all.
Conclusion
At both hospitals I was treated like a second rate citizen. I have often told myself I would rather have a physical illness since it is easier to understand. Both hospitals sent a very depressed and suicidal patient back to the street. All doctors involved and the resident did not seem to care and acted as if I was wasting their time. Looking back, THEY were actually wasting provincial health care dollars.
At a hospital two hours away, in another city, I finally found the care I needed and deserved.
Between hospital visits I had talked with the Provincial Crisis Hot Line. They were extremely efficient, caring, and a wonderful resource to me during a difficult time.
Regarding the downtown hospital:
I was very concerned when the ER manager called to tell me that they had lost Tara. They thought she had left without seeing a doctor. I informed the manager that this was not the case.
My mind was racing. I tried calling the ER manager back because I had two ideas as to what might have happened. I dialed back to the number that had appeared on my phone and got a recording that said my call could not be completed. The fact the ER manager called me from a number that cannot be called back to only added to my stress level.
A few minutes later I receive another call from the ER manager. Tara had been found. It was a case of paperwork not being put in the correct location. Tara had not left the room to which she had been assigned.
Treatment and care at the downtown hospital reached a level of uncaring and incompetence I never thought I’d ever see at a Canadian facility.
Note that the nursing staff were excellent. It is the doctor and resident that I am concerned about.