[ad_1]
Robyn Edie / Stuff
James Monteith says he was humiliated while sitting in a chair for people with Covid-19 symptoms at Southland Hospital.
A man who went to Southland Hospital with a chest infection says that sitting in a chair in the lobby that is assigned for people with Covid-19-like symptoms is humiliating.
The Southern District Board of Health says it understands that sitting in the chair can cause distress for patients, but its key goal at all times was to ensure that its patients and the community were safe.
Plan to make the chair less intrusive.
James Monteith had a negative Covid-19 test 10 days before presenting to Southland Hospital with a chest infection on Sunday night.
READ MORE:
* Coronavirus: The Many Ways Covid-19 Can Affect Your Gut
* Coronavirus: Free or paid and who gets one? GPs seek clarity
* Coronavirus: The unusual symptoms related to Covid-19 and what we know so far
Because the symptoms of the infection, which he had not been able to eliminate, were similar to those of Covid-19, he wore a mask and sat in a chair in the lobby of the hospital, which is assigned for people with symptoms like Covid-19. . .
“Basically you have a sign that says stop, don’t come to the ER if you have chest problems, which I have.
“They just ignored me sitting by the door with a sign that basically said sit here if you can have Covid. It is so humiliating. They all looked at me as they all read the sign coming through the door. It was like you could see them thinking ‘oh that guy has Covid’ because I was wearing a mask. ”
He rang the bell several times, but no one came to see him.
“They didn’t even come to classify me, and I heard the doorbell, so I knew it was working, but nobody came and took my data.”
After an hour, he left and went home.
1 NEWS
Alert level restrictions will be lowered next week, if NZ stays on top of community transmission of Covid-19.
Southern DHB Women’s and Children’s Health and Medicine General Manager Simon Donlevy said the purpose of the chair was to ensure that anyone suspected of Covid-19 is kept isolated from other patients.
“We have not had to use the chair frequently, but as you will appreciate, since Covid-19 is so easy to transmit, it is important that we have this option of physical distancing available.
“We have reviewed the location of the chair, but unfortunately, with our environmental limitations, there is nowhere else this chair can be placed to allow adequate physical distance and proximity to the emergency department.”
However, he planned to replace the red ribbons that highlighted the area with less intrusive markers.
Donlevy said it appeared that the hospital’s procedures did not work as they should have on Sunday night and sincerely apologized for what happened.
“The bell was not answered according to procedure and this should not have happened. The triage nurse had been called in to another patient, as can very occasionally happen.
“We have reviewed the procedure and the location of the hood and today we will move it to the reception desk.”
