I was with my wife in the emergency room of the hospital last Monday night.
She has a nasty case of the flu, with strep throat, and was in a lot of pain combined with trouble swallowing. She knew that she needed antibiotics, but it was too late to be seen at the walk-in clinic, so we headed to the emergency room.
I had braced myself for the traditional long wait, and not thinking things were pointing towards a short stay when it took 15 minutes just to see the triage nurse. Fortunately, we were quickly moved along to minor treatment, and had already seen the doctor when news of the Lakeland explosion came, just over an hour after we had arrived.
Staff numbers swelled to at least four times normal levels in the ER when the Code Orange was piped throughout the hospital. I had never before seen a real triage scene in operation, and, while I cannot say that I have really seen one now (as I was still an outsider), what I did witness was very well organized.
There were physicians and others wearing vests to identify those with command authority, staff making sure that supplies were kept stocked, laundry collected for cleaning, social workers on site to talk with victims and their families, even a volunteer walked through the ER with a cart containing hot/cold drinks and snacks to keep the staff going. Everyone was fabulous.
No one was in a panic, no one was running around, and while the overall volume of the place was increased due to the many voices, no one was speaking in a raised voice, everyone was calm and under control. People knew what they had to do and they did it.
My wife and I left the hospital at 12:20 a.m., more than two-and-a-half hours after the explosion, and not once during that time were we made to feel that she was taking up a bed that was needed for someone else. We both knew that, while she was sick and needed attention, there were others that needed care far more than she did, but we were never made to feel that they were pushing us out.
Prior to the arrival of the victims, one of the command physicians came to see her, as he needed to prepare the area she was in for receiving the expected patients. However, he made it very clear that she too needed care, and that he was not rushing her out, he was merely figuring out where to move her so they could better respond to the patients that would be coming in.
Over the course of the remaining time in the hospital, we were spoken to by multiple nurses who, while not ER nurses, were there in a supporting role. These ladies wanted to make sure that we were doing okay and didn't need anything.
These ladies were there to help, but also took the time to make sure that the other patients in the ER were not forgotten during the crisis.
Triage can be a very frustrating practice when you are the one sitting in the hospital waiting for care, and I know that many people, myself included, complain about the length of time it takes to be cared for when visiting the emergency room. We live in a 'first come, first served' society where it is hard to shift gears to 'Whoever needs care the most gets it first."
A situation like this reminds us why hospitals operate this way.
Well done, and thank you, to all the staff and volunteers at UHNBC.
Adam Ingle
Prince George
