Waiting in the ER: the physician’s perspective

From the Expositor:

You did all the right things.

At the first sign of not feeling well over the Christmas holidays, you called your physicians’ office and got a recorded message that said the office was closed and that you could come to their walk-in clinic, call Telehealth Ontario, or go to the emergency department.

The Telehealth nurse listened carefully as you described your symptoms and said because your physician’s office wasn’t open you could go to an emergency department.

So you bundled yourself up, made sure you had your list of medications you take and drove to the emergency department at Brantford General Hospital.