Queen Elizabeth Hospital Emergency (Province of PEI)

Problems are more likely  the management than the medical staff

Recent Emergency and Outpatient visits to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown PEI has me wondering if the problem with PEI’s Healthcare is not with the doctors and nurses but with management.

Recently the Minister of Health was complaining in the media that the doctors weren’t working hard enough.

Apparently PEI’s doctors sent her comments across the country by email.

Those statements got the ire of the Eastern Graphic who called for the Minister to resign or be fired. We can’t tolerate Bertram’s incompetence any longer

The medical staff at the hospital couldn’t have been better in dealing with my serious but non-life-threatening injury.

Two weeks ago I broke my left leg which is serious since the leg was disabled by polio 6 decades ago. It’s undersized, weak and lacks good circulation.

The care I received was very good. My speedy recovery can be attributed to the care provided.

Emergency

The ER staff were helpful and provided great patient care.

The new ER department looks like an airport waiting lounge. The spacious lounge has TV monitors that tell you how long the wait will be, which in my case was less than 2 hours.

Other patients reported receiving treatment within 3-6 hours which would be normal for a large urban hospital.

ER has it’s own X-Ray equipment which expedited getting X-Rays of my broken bone. The doctor quickly diagnosed a break in the femur and sent me over to outpatients where they sealed the leg in a cast.

Pros: spacious waiting room, wait time information, dedicated X-Ray equipment, professional care

Cons: entrance driveway is too narrow for two cars to allow patient to enter/exit at the same time

Outpatients

X-Rays in Outpatients are computerized

Outpatients is the old ER department location, expanded from its former small rooms.  They look after casting and other emergency treatments and follow-up visits. In my case that was with the orthopedic surgeons.

The staff in Outpatients are busy with a full waiting room most days. On my second visit, they put casts on 10 people with injuries from trampolines, one man in leg chains from the jail, and a room full of people with various broken hands, arms, legs and feet.

Despite the crush of work, the nurses, doctors and cast technicians stay up beat and friendly which is helpful when you’re in pain.  I’ve been there three times in two weeks and the experience was the same each time.

The experience at Outpatients was exceptional. I made this upbeat comment on Facebook last week despite being in constant pain.

“They were really nice. I got to lie down for all the exams, x rays etc. They were teasing me and joking around. It was like they looked forward to seeing me and said “see you next week.” Met tons of old friends in the waiting room, hallways. Sent me home with a hospital pillow under my leg.”

While the QEH patient information system doesn’t work, the computerized X-Ray system does. They were able to call up X-Rays on the monitor everywhere I went, including looking at the originals and the progression from visit to visit.

Cons: More renovations need to be done to properly integrate Outpatients with ER and the rest of the hospital. Essentially, the orthopedic area has just been cobbled from the former ER with no modifications. There isn’t a wheelchair accessible washroom in the vicinity, for instance.

Occupational Therapy

Outpatients should have dedicated occupational therapy resources to assist patients with adapting their casts, braces and other treatment with life at home.

They create serious problems with the daily functions of life like the bathroom.

If you are an in-patient at the QEH this service is offered. Occupational therapy needs to be extended to outpatients as well.

Wheelchairs can be rented from Layton’s or Harding Medical or borrowed from the Red Cross. In my case, it seemed impossible to get a wheelchair adaptation that would support the extended cast.

Paul in Physical Medicine helped me adapt my wheelchair to the leg cast and brace which was a great help.  I knew he was there, so I self-actualizing my support.

If you didn’t know about their services you would be in a pickle.

So what’s the problem with PEI healthcare? Probably money and lack of expertise at the upper level of management.

Oh, and the $70 million patient information system doesn’t work but that’s another story.