This following was one of the recent stories on CBS8 in San Diego. One of CBS8’s reporters was bent out of shape because his 89 year old mother had to spend 6 hours in a ER hallway while being treated for a broken hand and abrasions sustained when she fell in her garden.
The news report went something like this:
“Overcrowding in the emergency room at UC San Diego Health’s La Jolla hospital is forcing patients to be treated in the hallways.
Nurses have been protesting the conditions for months.
A CBS 8 reporter witnessed the overcrowding firsthand last week when his mother was injured and had to be admitted to UC San Diego Health’s emergency department next to Jacobs Medical Center.”
From my perspective, this could have been the perfect opportunity for the reporter to compliment the hospital on the excellent care that his mother received despite the overcrowded E.R. conditions. Perhaps instead of CBS8 bellyaching about beds in the hallways, they could have acted like a real News station and asked, “Why is this occurring?”
A representative of UCSD said that 99% of the time, the cause for treating someone in an E.R. hallway is that there are no beds in the hospital, and at any one time, 70% are waiting for an available hospital bed.
I say “hurrah” to UCSD for keeping their E.R. open, and doing the best that they can. While “nurses may have been protesting the conditions for months,” I’m not sure exactly what they are protesting. Granted the E.R. nurses may well be overworked taking care of these additional hallway patients, but how does protesting open up additional beds in the hospital.
Keep in mind, it is only August and the paucity of available hospital beds is already an issue. Get ready San Diego, as the situation is only going to get worse when winter and the flu-season come.
9/7/23