Overcrowding in Canada’s emergency departments, as a direct result of almost criminal government inaction has led to clinical measures such as screening patients in hallways, chairs and ambulance corridors where patient privacy and confidentiality are regrettably forgotten as we try to assess patients before they become seriously ill or leave the ER in distress.
One emergency physician was quoted as saying “You don’t ask patients their deep, personal questions when someone is sitting in the chair next to them.”
The truth is that we do. Waiting for the privacy of a hammock is like waiting for Godot. So we do our best but inevitably, sometimes someone hears something they shouldn’t.
Our regulatory bodies may sanction a doctor or nurse for discussing a patient’s case in a hospital elevator but say nothing about the corruption of this basic medical principle in the hallway of the ER.
It is unacceptable and frankly heartbreaking.
Alan Drummond, MD, Perth
