California inspectors pay surprise visit to County-USC Medical Center after complaint about ER waits

[n2doc]

May 13, 2010 | 4:11 pm


In a surprise visit Thursday, state inspectors arrived at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center to investigate allegations made this week that patients face excessively long emergency room waits – sometimes without any vital signs being taken – and that hospital workers fail to protect patient privacy.

“They arrived today and will be there tomorrow, too,” said Michael Wilson, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, which runs the 600-bed hospital.

The California Department of Public Health confirmed that there was an active investigation at the county-run facility. Wilson said county officials will have no information about the inspectors' findings until Friday at the earliest.

The unannounced inspection came a day after the county confirmed that it was investigating allegations made by a healthcare professional who visited County-USC’s emergency room May 4 seeking treatment for abdominal pain.

In a complaint sent to government regulators and the county, the woman said she waited eight hours before deciding to seek treatment at another hospital. In that time, according to a copy of the complaint reviewed by The Times, no nurse took her vital signs, a practice she alleged put patients in danger.

She also said a nurse told her that the average wait was 35 hours.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/05/state-inspector-pay-surprise-visit-to-countyusc-medical-center-after-complaint-about-er-waits.html

[cbayer]

1. What is happening in the ED's of hospitals, and particularly city/county hospitals,

is a symptom of the illness, not the illness itself.


They are so critically overwhelmed and understaffed because they are the one portal to the medical system that is required to see and treat patients despite their ability to pay. Everyone else can turn them away.

And having the state regulators come in to survey the situation just slowed it down that much more.

This system is so, so sick.

:grr:

[EvolveOrConvolve]

2. Totally and completely agree

If the government were to sponsor free walk-in clinics, emergency rooms could return to their primary goal: treating emergency patients.

[hedgehog]

3. How long was the program ER on television? 15 years?

and in 15 years, what changes did hospitals make to the real life ERs? I mean, aside from siphoning off paying patients to the urgent care centers?

[Manifestor_of_Light]

4. I got ignored in a private ER where nurses were standing around shooting the shit.

I was in a wheelchair and barfing uncontrollably due to a sinus infection/bronchitis.

My hubby tried to buttonhole people and couldn't get anything done after three hours. There were a couple of people waiting behind me and they were visibly uncomfortable at my extremely loud barfing and falling over in the wheelchair, while hubby was holding me up so I wouldn't tumble forward into the floor. Some stupid girl took down my medical information and the fact that I had no insurance. While that interview was going on, I had to lean over, put my head on the desk and barf into my lap.

Eventually he took me to another private hospital where I got seen within 45 minutes and the doctors and nurses acted like they gave a shit whether I lived or died. And they made sure I got an antibiotic shot, a cortisone shot and an anti-cookie tossing shot.

Fuck you, Spring Branch Medical Center. You can go to hell and I heard you're closing.