To say that this hospital is incompetent because of staff would be an understatement. I have never experienced the level of rude nurses, admittance staff, and doctors at any other hospital than at this place. And this isn’t based on one visit… I have been going here for the last 2 years regularly. But because of my last experience at the Emergency Room, I may have to switch doctors and go elsewhere.
I must say that there are a select few physicians that are brilliant, and are the sole reason that I go here. There are also a lot of brilliant and caring nurses that work here too. Not everyone here is awful, and I’m not saying that. But I think that the overall level of incompetence here is dangerous, as I have experienced it firsthand.
2 years ago, I had a cesarean scheduled here and planned to have my youngest daughter on a Sunday in the afternoon. The operation went well, but because I didn’t have insurance at the time, I was put in a “Semi-private” room… Ha- that is a real deceptive description of that room! It was full of people talking on their cell phones, and full on entire families were allowed in there. I was place here 1 hour after surgery, and almost lost my mind. I was in horrendous pain, and the nurses did nothing to quiet the room, or keep little children from running wildly around the recovery area. I don’t care if I didn’t have private insurance, my basic health rights allow me the right to recover with quiet. This was in the evening, and I tried to sleep but I didn’t.
The next morning (on Monday), the Ob/GYN who performed the operation saw what I looked like in the morning. She ordered the nurses to take my vitals (which they didn’t do all night), and quickly moved me to a private room because I had taken a turn for the worse. My blood pressure was dangerously low, and I was as white as a ghost.
Finally able to get rest, the nurses barely came to check on me. I stayed in the room to get some sleep, but I didn’t even get my dinner- my husband had to complain and ended up having to buy a meal from a fast food place. Awful.
Tuesday morning they released me to go home only 36 hours after my operation. And I WALKED out of the maternity ward. No one even bothered to get me a wheel chair- even though a cesarean is a major operation. The nurses basically pushed me out of the room, and didn’t ask how I was going to get home. My husband was so angry, but I was just so appalled at my treatment that I wanted to go home. I mean, who WALKS out of a hospital after having a cesarean?
Since then, I have been coming here to treat my cervical dysplasia. My last operation (a L.E.E.P.) had some complications, and I ended up bleeding profusely on a weekend, unable to see my regular OB/GYN. I went to a different hospital’s emergency room in Bowmanville but they sent me to Ajax because they were unable to treat my bleeding. They called ahead to the Ob/Gyn on call, and sent me on my way with hospital papers.
When I got the emergency room, I had to wait in a line of 10 people to be admitted, and when I finally was admitted, the Triage nurse was completely rude to me. I showed her the papers that the other hospital had given me, and she just sniffed and went about the sign in- like any other sign in. She asked me what my symptoms were, and I kept telling her that the last emergency doctor said I was bleeding from the operation site, and she just kept asking me when I had my period. I asked her what that had anything to do with my condition, since I had HOSPITAL PAPERS that stated what the other DOCTOR had done, and she completely ignored me. She sent me off to get registered at another window, and that person couldn’t understand English. I had to repeat myself numerous times.
I sat in the waiting room to wait. I saw people go in quickly, but I still sat. I even had to go to the washroom to adjust myself because I was bleeding so bad. I even saw a guy with a twisted ankle go ahead of me. I just glared at the Triage nurse when she came out. Maybe they thought my wooziness was rudeness… but really? Bleeding profusely was not an emergency? A twisted ankle takes precedence over that? Unbelievable. If I went in last because these people thought that I was rude or something, that goes against some serious ethics.
When I finally got into the room to be seen, the emergency nurse seemed nice. But he didn’t have any idea what I was talking about. He actually said “Refresh my memory to what a L.E.E.P. procedure is…?” Really. He flagged down the on call Ob/Gyn, and put me in an examining room.
The Ob/Gyn was hard to understand as he didn’t speak English that well. He was very condescending when he asked about what birth control I was on, and kept going on and asking me when I had my period. I showed him the Doctor’s notes from the prior hospital, and he proceded to examine me. He didn’t tell me what he was doing, and he just jammed swabs right on my surgical site. (Remember that I had just had surgery and had a large hole with stitches that was healing)… I went instantly pale and almost passed out from the pain. After administering a surgical paste to stop the bleeding, he began a condescending speech about what I could or couldn’t do, and tried to give me anti-biotics. I explained that I was already on anti-biotics and it was clearly written in my chart- if he had bothered to even glance at it. I told him I was feeling woozy and dizzy, and he said that I was fine because my hemoglobin was fine according to the test from the other hospital (5 hours prior- I’m sure things can change in that time with heavy bleeding).
Then he wanted me to have a pregnancy test because of the fact that I am not on hormonal birth control even though I told him over and over again that I practiced natural family planning without hormones because I am against it for health reasons. (I really wish that some doctors would stop pushing hormonal birth control, but that’s a different issue). I had to wait another hour, when all I wanted to do was leave.
You know, the whole time I was there, there seemed to be an abundance of staff, but only a few people actually working. Walking to the bathroom past the nurses station, all I saw were people standing around chatting with each other. The nurses were mostly rude, and always rolled their eyes at most of the patients. I’m sorry- but even if I don’t look sick or dead, it doesn’t mean that I don’t have a serious condition. I think that heavy bleeding from a surgical site would warrant a trip to the Emergency without feeling like I was wasting the doctors or nurses time.
Dealing with surgeries to prevent cancer makes me vulnerable. I would’ve appreciated some compassion instead of judgement. I actually left the hospital crying.
These aren’t the only two times I’ve had sub-par treatment at this hospital. I have had MANY BAD EXPERIENCES HERE. And I wish that people would stop blaming cut-backs for the state of the current hospital staff. I have been to other hospitals and have had wonderful treatment. When I had my oldest daughter, the nurses at Oshawa Lakeridge Hospital were the best I have had. They were so compassionate, and cared. Such a difference from Ajax nurses. Someone should really investigate this issue. You shouldn’t work in the social system, if you don’t like people!
I am seriously thinking about changing my wonderful doctor just so I don’t ever have to go to this hospital ever again.
If I was to give my experiences a rating, it would be a 2 out of 5.