Caught On Camera: Patient Dies Alone In E.R.

Caught On Camera: Patient Dies Alone In E.R.

www.wesh.com

NEW YORK -- Video from a surveillance camera at a Brooklyn hospital shows a woman dying on the floor of a psychiatric emergency room while staffers initially ignore her.


The 49-year-old psychiatric patient laid unattended on the floor at Kings County Hospital for almost an hour before a nurse kicked her to see if she would respond, reported New York television station WNBC.

(visit the link for the full news article)

My God! If you can't get emergency medical help at the emergency room, then where in the hell can you go? I think the most appalling thing here is the nurse who nonchallantly toed the poor woman, assuming she was passed out. Maybe if you work in an emergency room and you see someone laying motionless on the floor, you should consider calling for help instead of treating them like they're sacked out under an overpass somewhere. Ever doctor, nurse, and administrator who just walked past this poor woman should be fired from the hospital and have their license revoked because they completely ignored their oath of service.

www.wesh.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Thats a really dis-heartening video, what were people thinking nobody even went over to check if she was ok (which obviously she wasn't), the people that walked by should be done for negligence they have a duty to care for people.

Its also a sign of the times we live in

I cut my fingers off once and when I asked the doctor for something to relieve the pain he told me "Life's a b*tch, deal with it." And I am not kidding. If I wouldn't have been in immense pain, I would have smacked the [SNIP] out of him.

Another incident I had was when I was 16 and I had a suicide attempt. I was in the emergency room getting my stomach pumped and about 6 workers were standing around me cracking jokes at me.

Hospitals suck. I hate them.

Mod Edit: Removed Profanity/Censor circumvention

[edit on 1-7-2008 by Gemwolf]

Man this is really sad, that poor woman went to Emergency room, for help. Could it have been an emergency? I can't imagine. -_-

The article upsets me. And, kinda makes me feel uneasy. This is not the first time someone has gone into emergency and died while waiting for help.

Something is severely wrong. This should NOT be happening in America.

EDIT for typo

[edit on 1-7-2008 by LostNemesis]

During that time, two hospital security guards apparently saw her but didn't do anything to help. The first walked by, and the second didn't rise from his chair until about 10 minutes later.

The tape shows a doctor walking by as well. He apparently looked at the woman but kept going.

These three should be the first fired and dragged before a criminal negligence trial.

Then it would be the CCTV operators turn if there is one. Then I would watch the footage, and ever member iof staff who walked past and did not assist would also be dragged up in front of a judge.

As a human being, I am stunned. Hospital workers, especially skilled highly trained Dr's walking past ? security walking past ? A nurse KICKED her to see if she would respond ?

I.... I am speechless, stunned, appalled, saddend, angered.

The law should be brought to these people in its harshest form possible. Jobs should be lost, sentences handed out, and the whole department needs turning upside down and shaken till all the crap falls out and the decent folks are left to deal with people in a ER in a humanised caring way.

Wouldn't firing these people just worsen the problem? It seems to me like maybe we are already running into the problem of not enough professionals to deal with the amount of people who need help.

I mean, some think it's a funding problem, because hospitals are forced to deal with illegals for free, as well as people who are uninsured and that's the only way they can be seen by a doctor. Even if not an emergency.

Really, this can only get worse??? I mean, with the way the population is exploding, as well as some might argue that the economy seems to be struggling.

I don't know, this isn't the first indication to a very real problem.
In case of pandemic, there's not much that can be done.

EDIT to add: Also, there's been some articles lately on MSM about the amount of uninsured in America increasing.... I am uninsured, and know the only way to be seen is Emergency. I'd rather die, personally, but not everyone is like that.

Unfair to make the hospital take in people who have no intention to pay for services.

[edit on 1-7-2008 by LostNemesis]

reply to post by LostNemesis


I don't believe staffing is the problem here, though. That waiting room doesn't exactly look like there's a backlog of patients waiting to get seen. If it was a staffing issue, I'd expect far more people sitting in the seats. This was purely an example of a lack of caring and concern on the part of the hospitals. They act like they're doing the patient a favor and the patient should just be gratefull they're even tended to. It's just another example of how far we've regressed since the days when the customer was always right and service industries were actually there to serve us instead of acting like everything is one huge hassle and the customer is a pain in the ass rather than a valued asset.

Oh my word. That's horrifying! This once again reminds me that people in the medical world loose contact with the feelings of their patients. Sure, I suppose you have to be "hard" because you won't make it if you get emotionally attached to each and every patient... But still.

reply to post by LostNemesis



This isnt a staff issue... this is criminal neglect. Fire them, drag them through courts and get them punished.

That lady was a human being - she should of been treated with dignity and respect no matter what illness she had.

A Dr walked past a person prostrate on the floor... i don't care wat he was doing - informing a nurse takes 30 seconds... thats life saving give a damn time.

She died because people were in my opinion criminally negligent.

That video isn't really much help. There are no hospital staff visible and it's not long enough to gauge how long she lay there.

I know how callous some hostital workers can be and I have some horror stories of my own.

However, I have worked with mental patients before and they can be quite dramatic and unpredictable and seeing one fall on the floor might not cause much alarm, if other things are more pressing at that moment.

However, based on the article, she was simply ignored for no good reason, while some staff looked on. At the very least, security should have checked on her status to see if she was in distress or just wanted to lie down. If a patient decides to lie on the floor, there's not much that can be done except to strap him into a wheelchair and that can look pretty brutal on video, too.

I'm only offering reasons that staff might not have reacted immediately, but no matter how you stack it, this isn't going to enhance the hospital's reputation.

Imagine how universal healthcare will be.


[edit on 2008/7/1 by GradyPhilpott]

reply to post by burdman30ott6


If that's the case, and personnel really are at fault... Then this poor lady's family has a really good lawsuit on their hands. Too much of this, and it WILL be a funding issue if it isn't already.

I've actually had a 4 hour wait in ER, a couple years ago, and it wasn't busy then either. Just that all the back rooms were full, and people with more urgent things go back as soon as a room opens.

This is why sometimes I believe there is some kind of conspiracy going on. For a fact, I know that not all hospitals are like that. Most of the ones I've been to do a pretty good job of treating their patients. Yeah, I've seen plenty of bad eggs, but over all, I've noticed it's the bad eggs that get all the press, making people expect this sort of thing.
Pretty much the only problem I've had with doctors would be them repeatedly asking about whether or not I've taken illegal drugs, smoke, or had multiple partners.
And the answer is always th same, nope, nope, and I wish, depending on the person asking. I must have one of those faces or something, 'cause they are always asking.

I gashed my arm open a while back, It was about an inch long and fairly deep and someone said I need to go to the hospital and get stiches.
So I walked into a shop and bought some disinfectant and a bandage went to the toilet area of the shop turned on the tap and gave it a good wash out with water and disinfectant then put the bandage on, 10 minutes I was done.

If I'd gone to the hospital I would've been sitting around for 4 hours slowly bleeding to death.

Originally posted by Mad_Hatter
I cut my fingers off once and when I asked the doctor for something to relieve the pain he told me "Life's a b*tch, deal with it." And I am not kidding. If I wouldn't have been in immense pain, I would have smacked the [SNIP] out of him.

Another incident I had was when I was 16 and I had a suicide attempt. I was in the emergency room getting my stomach pumped and about 6 workers were standing around me cracking jokes at me.

Hospitals suck. I hate them.

What a d8ck! Not even in the military would they say such a thing! (maybe in bootcamp for good reasons ) Say did you get fingers re-attached?



Best Regards,

Richie

Mod Edit: Removed quoted censor circumvention.

[edit on 1-7-2008 by Gemwolf]

reply to post by GradyPhilpott


if you have worked with mental patients, and your happy with them slumping to the floor because they can be 'dramatic' and don't see why she should of been checked by the staff who passed her... I am speechless, totally speechless.

So a person has a mental illness ? oh that makes it all ok to offer less of a sympathetic treatment and be less observant and caring ?

No... it SHOULD mean you offer a highly disciplined and highly observant care level, because these people suffer far greater than the average patient who can tell you / vocalise their problems.

The second this patient hit the floor, she should of been checked over. IF then it turns out she is playing possum, then all well. You may have wasted a few minutes, but you have not let some one die on the floor of an ER.

The video was too short and didn't show much. I guess they want to "protect" the hospital staff that were fired. If everyone knew who they were, people on the street might do something...

That's so sad. No one should die alone like that, and on the floor too.

Poor lady.

Originally posted by Seaman_Richie

What a d8ck! Not even in the military would they say such a thing! (maybe in bootcamp for good reasons

) Say did you get fingers re-attached?

Yeah, I had them reattached. And btw, my aunt who was there with me heard the doctor say that and really let him have it. She even filed a complaint with the hospital about it.

Pretty sad and sickening, but really no suprise.


Psych wards are notoriously bad, always have been.

This type of stuff happens in VA hospitals and nursing homes as well on a pretty regular basis. We have a hospital down here in NC called Annie Penn Memorial hospital that is affectionately known throughout the community as "One Way Annie", because a lot of people go in, but not all of them come out.

Now imagine how crappy the level of care will be when free health care is kicked in and medical care becomes socialized and handled by the federal government. If you have ever been to the DMV you already have a good idea.

reply to post by Dar Kuma


What crock of donkey poo.

You walked to a shop, got some disinfectant washed your cut and bandaged it.. because you would of bled to death in an A+E dept here in the UK...

What ever.

TRIAGE nurse would of taken one look at it and got the ball rolling IF it had been as bad as you make out it was.

A limb injury is a red to amber alert. Why ? because of the potential damage to ligaments / nerves and tendons. Your arm would of got looked at by a specialist right away IF it was as bad as you make out it was...

The only thing that goes above limb / eye sight is an immediate cardiac arrest / chest pains and GCS 10 and below patients.





[edit on 1-7-2008 by Dan Tanna]