Dear Editor,
My experience at the GPHC neurology department was nothing short of inhumane.
On Wednesday I had a 7 am appointment at the neurologist so, because I’m coming from a long distance, I had to get up from 4 am and get my children ready for school in order to meet to the hospital and hand in my card at 6:46 am.
I waited and waited. They finally called my name at around 9:30 am to test my pressure then put me to sit back down to wait.
It was coming onto lunch time so I asked the nurse who collected my card when I will be going in and she told me right after this person, nodding her head to someone sitting two persons away from me.
I was relieved, thinking I would soon be able to go home. I had a blood count of six and was on medication for too much CSF that gave me terrible pains in my feet and knees as a side effect and the medication was also a diuretic which caused me to have frequent urination. At about 12 noon, a nurse came and was hustling me in to see another doctor saying it wasn’t that necessary that I see the doctor I came to see and I can see this one instead.
I explained to her that the doctor I was going to see had me on a medication and needed to do a follow up so I preferred to see her, so she reluctantly told me to sit back down.
Little did I know she had someone she wanted to put in my space.
All the while there was a woman sitting next to her laughing and chatting. I paid no attention to it until it was my turn to go into the doctor at 1:30 pm and the woman that the nurse was laughing with jumped up to go in. The moment I jumped up to mention to her that it was, in fact, my turn to see the doctor the same nurse who was hustling me to see another doctor came between me and her and allowed the woman to run in to the room behind her back while she practically blocked me.
At that point I was beyond frustrated, tired and my body was weak. I said to the nurse, “the other nurse specifically told me I would go in now.”
She said to me without a single ounce of empathy, “well the woman said is she turn and u telling me is u turn.” And walked away while I was still trying to speak. She acted as though she didn’t know the woman.
I waited over half hour and the woman finally came out. She was barely out the door when the same nurse that pretended to not know her was now laughing and asking her how the doctor’s visit went.
At this point I walked into the doctor’s office with a headache when I shouldn’t be taking on any stress with my medical condition and I was also late for picking up my children.
Mind you, this isn’t the first time.
I’ve been to GPHC’s neurology department three times so far and it’s been the same from the first day. Hustling me off on another doctor to put someone else in my place. The neurologists have no idea what is going on outside but the only way to get your services in a timely manner is when you get up and start screaming and shouting in frustration.
The same day I was there another woman was there up until about 3 pm and started shouting in disbelief that she came so early and was still at the hospital. The nurses then hurried to get her card and sent her in to the doctor after she threatened to file a complaint to the head of the hospital.
Is that really what it takes to be taken seriously at the hospital?
This needs to be addressed seriously. I’m not certain of the other departments but the nurses at the neurology department definitely need to be assessed and checked on to make sure sick people don’t have to be at the hospital all day, unnecessarily.
Yours faithfully,
(Name and address provided)
