Outrageous care, or lack of care!

[Karlynn]

A good friend just stopped by for a visit. She told me that her Mom had a small stroke over the weekend and had been hospitalized over night.

She went to the doctor on Saturday morning (he had a.m. office hours) because she had called to report that she had some numbness on one side of her face. The told her to come in. So she drove in. By that time, she was having tingling in her hands and toes on one side. They took her BP and it was over 300. They told her "You need to get yourself to the hospital." So did they call an ambulance? NO! She drove herself to the hospital. The dr's office was nice enough to call ahead to let them know she was coming. Did that matter? NO! She got there and they took her BP again. It was 250/170. One would think that, in itself, would get her immediate attention. NO! She sat for 5 hours in the waiting room. While she was sitting in the waiting room, her entire leg became numb. They finally put her in an exam room and then admitted her to the hospital.

My friend is very angry - at the medical care and at her mother. She's in her mid-70's and she just did as she was told without questioning anyone. Her daughter is extremely angry that she didn't call either her or her other 3 sisters who all live within 25 minutes of her. She waited until she got admitted to her room.

She still has numbness in her face. The leg numbness and tingling is gone, but she has gray clouds in her vision.

 

[catwoman]

Karlynn:

She needs to find another primary care doctor -- he/she should have called an ambulance to get her to the hospital. Every medical professional along the way was negligent, too!

 

[Harrybaby666]

Karlynn, It sounds like the medical practice here in NH...

Karlynn, It sounds like the medical practice here in NH...

Honestly, I don't know what to say other than I am sorry that this happened to your friend's mother, and I am sure that it makes you think about the quality of care that one gets for his or herself. Your friend and her mother will be in my prayers for a speedy recovery. Harrybaby

 

[PJmomrunner]

This truly is outrageous! Whoever told that poor woman to come in to the doctor's office and subsequently told her to drive herself to the ER needs to find another line of work. Anyone advising a patient as to treatment should be qualified to do so, and if they're not, they should be summarily fired!

And...your friend should cut her mom some slack...the woman was having a stroke and she called her doctor...pretty reasonable thing to do. Too bad the doctor's office was useless!

I will advise my parents to either get a ride to the ER or call 911. Talking about things like this ahead of time can make a big difference.

 

[Nancy]

That doctor is a nuisance and should look for another job, or retire. I hope she never steps foot in his office again.

The ER was VERY negligent. But it may be that the poor woman was not able to describe her problems adequately or completely. She may be the shy type who won't speak up when it is necessary. She needed someone else to be with her to help her get attention.

Even when you DO speak up, things don't go the way they should. Trust me, I know.

 

[Karlynn]

She needed someone else to be with her to help her get attention.

And this is why the family is angry with Mom. She has a cell phone, uses it often just to chat, but didn't use it to call any of her kids to tell them what was going on. They would have been there in a split second. She said that she didn't want to ruin their Saturday events!

 

[PJmomrunner]

She said that she didn't want to ruin their Saturday events!

Okay, then Mom gets only the very minimum of slack!

Oh, and the hospital head administrator gets a stern letter with a "cc:" to the local newspaper.

 

[LUVMyBirman]

How awful Karlynn. I truly hope your friend found the care she needed. And is on the mend. For starters......anti coagulation until they find the cause.

For conversation sake......would you mind posting the name of the facility? Maybe us locals can either stay away. Or hope they correct the issue! One thi g to add on ER's. I have been taken care of ASAP. Just mention the valve and they are all over it!

 

[Sheila2old]

A good friend just stopped by for a visit. She told me that her Mom had a small stroke over the weekend and had been hospitalized over night.

She went to the doctor on Saturday morning (he had a.m. office hours) because she had called to report that she had some numbness on one side of her face. The told her to come in. So she drove in. By that time, she was having tingling in her hands and toes on one side. They took her BP and it was over 300. They told her "You need to get yourself to the hospital." So did they call an ambulance? NO! She drove herself to the hospital. The dr's office was nice enough to call ahead to let them know she was coming. Did that matter? NO! She got there and they took her BP again. It was 250/170. One would think that, in itself, would get her immediate attention. NO! She sat for 5 hours in the waiting room. While she was sitting in the waiting room, her entire leg became numb. They finally put her in an exam room and then admitted her to the hospital.

My friend is very angry - at the medical care and at her mother. She's in her mid-70's and she just did as she was told without questioning anyone. Her daughter is extremely angry that she didn't call either her or her other 3 sisters who all live within 25 minutes of her. She waited until she got admitted to her room.

She still has numbness in her face. The leg numbness and tingling is gone, but she has gray clouds in her vision.

Karlynn, tell your friend to take her anger with her to an attorneys office ASAP!! I feel so bad for her and her mother!! I am a lowly CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) and one of the first things they taught us in school was that when a patients (especially geriatric) lower BP number gets close to 100 they are in stroke territory!! Those so called 'professionals' that saw her mother that day should be reported to the AMA so they can't ever do that to anyone again! Grrrr.....that makes me so angry for their family!

 

[terryj]

I can't believe this doctors office was so negligent. A few months ago I got very dizzy at work and nearly passed out a few times. I stupidly drove myself to my doctors office(I had to pull over twice because I felt so dizzy) when I got there my blood pressure was 198/105. They had me lie down and brought me a blood pressure pill and did an EKG immediately. Then after my blood pressure started coming down they said they were still trying to decide whether to call an ambulance to take me to the hospital or my husband to take me home. They would not let me drive. They sat with me while I called my husband and would not let me leave until he arrived. Then, I had to come in again the next morning to get my blood pressure rechecked(we have a monitor at home) before they would release me to go back to work.

 

[pipersmith]

More common than you might think!!

More common than you might think!!

I think that the situation is appalling!!! Unfortunately, this is all too common in medical care - especially for women, especially for heart issues and stroke.

Even though a substantial number of women suffer from the two - enough to say it is common - women typically recieve subtandard care, as compared to men, with the same ailments. Women can present with symptoms present in order on any list you can find on the internet - and medical PROFESSIONALS will still often misdiagnose - or put off critical (or time critical) treatment.

I think that your friend should take care of mom first - and then report this to any one who is in range. Our hospital requests feedback from everyone that walks through the door. Until it becomes a nuisance or an embarassment - the problem will continue.

I am sorry for her trouble and hope that she recovers well!!!


just FYI....
http://www.womenheart.org/information/WH_fact_sheet_print.html

the same is VERY common with stroke as well!!!

 

[sue943]

As someone who has had a stroke, I am appalled. Who would have been responsible if she had another stroke whilst driving and killed someone?