In recent years, the burden placed on emergency rooms has been overwhelming.
There is a lack of beds, an overworked staff, and long waiting times.
But another problem is patients who head straight to the emergency room when they should be visiting a doctor’s office.
When one nurse got tired of hearing people complain about long wait times at her emergency room, she responded—and posted a raw and honest image from the ER.
If you’re sick, you should always seek care. That much is obvious. But as everyone knows, it’s difficult, if not impossible, to judge how ill you are by yourself.
Should you call your doctor? Or do you need to rush to the emergency room?
Unfortunately, the health care industry is being stretched and many hospitals are plaqued with long waiting times, budget deficits, an overworked staff, and a lack of nurses.
The situation in Germany is no different. There, a nurse named Kay Müller got fed up seeing patients who weren’t actually seriously ill visiting the ER.
So she posted a raw but honest picture to show what a life-and-death situation really looks like.
“Once again, I had a patient complaining about having to wait two hours in the emergency room. I’m quite convinced he can wait a few hours with his runny nose and fever.”
“I’d like to show him this picture. This, my friends, is what a real emergency looks like. You should have gone to your family doctor or health care center for your nose, not visited the emergency room. I’m sorry if I sound a bit harsh, but I think it’s scary that people take everything for granted all the time.”
Now, the nurse’s Facebook post has been hailed by thousands. At the time of writing, Kay’s post had received more than 24,000 likes and 15,000 shares.
Do you think the nurse is right that many people go to the emergency room when they should really be going to their family doctor first? Share if you agree.
Published by Newsner, please like
