By EMS1 Staff
OKLAHOMA CITY — A VA patient said she was forced to call 911 from the emergency room because she had extreme pain and was not being treated.
KFOR reported that Robin Harrison was leaving the VA after a routine appointment when she “doubled over” due to debilitating stomach cramps.
Harrison’s friend helped her back into the hospital, and she was sent to the ER by her doctor.
“The triage nurse opened up the door, she took me immediately back in, asked me what was going on, I gave her all my symptoms,” Harrison said. “I told her that I was in extreme pain, that it felt like I was having labor pains in my stomach.”
Harrison was sent to the waiting room where she said she cringed in pain while laying on a bench for two hours before she began to ask for help.
“I said, ‘What do I have to do to get back there?’ I said, ‘I can’t take this pain anymore.’”
Harrison said she finally called 911 after being ignored by the staff.
“I’m waiting, and I’ve been here for two hours in severe abdominal pain, and I can’t get back there to see anyone, and I can’t drive myself anywhere,” Harrison told the dispatcher.
The ER was alerted of Harrison’s call and a nurse sent her to the triage room.
“Starts going, ‘You can’t call 911 from here,’ and I said, ‘Yes I can.’ ‘That’s misuse of the 911 system,’ and I said, ‘No, it’s not.’ And he never once asks me why I’m crying, why I’m doubled over, why I’m there, nothing,” Harrison said. “He just starts berating me.”
Harrison said she left after noticing that other patients were being treated before her, but hospital officials said Harrison was only in the waiting room for an hour and 23 minutes before calling 911.
“The triage nurse went out again just to make sure that something hadn’t suddenly changed,” ER nurse manager Courtney Myers said. “And that’s where they had documented that she appeared to be sleeping. That’s not just a quick assessment.”
Myers added that Harrison opted to not stay after a nurse asked how she was doing, and VA medical director Wade Velosich said Harrison received the same care as other patients.
“Everybody has their perceptions,” Velosich said. “And we want to do the best to serve those who have served our country.”