I’ve worked in ERs since the 1990s. Nothing in this story makes logical sense. Patients say the damndest things all the time, and no one stops giving them oxygen over it. No one gets put in a ‘straight jacket’ and people don’t get restrained unless they are violent.
Everything people in this thread have written is true - about racism in the system, black people getting worse care nationwide, black people’s pain being under treated, heart attacks and such under diagnosed at a greater rate than white people, etc.
But the story as reported in the linked article, even if those things were happening, just doesn’t make sense.
And wtf, that the lawyer says they’ll sue the dead security guard’s estate, too?
I’m a bigger lady and have been told my very not related to my weight issues could be fixed by losing weight.
I haven’t yet experienced it yet, but I know trans folks who have been told their issues are their due to their hormones and some have been refused treatment unless they stopped taking them. It’s so common it has a name - trans broken arm syndrome. “Oh, you’re trans? Your broken arm is because of your hormones”
Yeah, I fortunately have been spared the trans broken arm syndrome. Maybe because I have an actual bone disorder. Seriously, though, all the doctors I’ve had since transitioning have been great. I have been very lucky.
Me too, so far. I haven’t had to go to the ER since coming out though, and that seems to be where a lot of the issues occur.
I’m not confident in my local hospitals’ ability to counter bigotry in their staff though, given that they’re known for forcibly sterilizing first nations women without consent after they give birth.
I had to go to the ER in October 2020, when I had a heart attack. I had no trouble, but this is New Jersey. It’s one of the better states to be trans in.
As suggested above, he might not have seen the doctor yet, just the triage nurse as he was wheeled in the door. (Since the doctor isn’t included in the lawsuit, that seems possible.)
I guess getting those questions right like “Do you know where you are?” and “What’s your date of birth?” can be pretty damned important!
Seconded. Would also like to further note that a psych history increases the risk of IHD, agitation and delusions can be a sign of delirium (though such a specific grandiose belief would be unusual), most elderly people with delusions aren’t agitated, and most agitated psych patients don’t need to be restrained.
This example is particularly egregious, though I certainly witnessed less severe versions of this kind of thing with distressing regularity. There’s been some recent initiatives to improve things though.
I remember learning quite early in my training that even if you KNOW someone to have active psychosis, to not discount everything they say. Been more than once I’ve met a paranoid person who also did have someone out to get them, or a person with grandiose delusions who really had done amazing things or were friends with famous people. Or more common and more sad, people who have significant mentally illness who really are being being mistreated or worse by carers/family/staff - really tricky situation where you don’t want to make things worse for anyone involved
