'We waited, and we waited': Crash victim leaves ER unattended after 6 hours

A Corner Brook woman involved in a dramatic car crash says she spent more than six hours in the emergency room without seeing a doctor.

The dramatic crash happened May 4 on quiet Premier Drive, and sent a SUV into the air landing on its roof and rolling over on its side.

Jocelyn Cook was driving the car which was hit by the SUV.

Cook, who's a minister,had a passenger in the vehicle with her. The two were on their way to a church meeting, and can't believe how fast everything happened.

"This vehicle appeared and we didn't have time to react to it in any way at all."

Both vehicles were badly beaten up in the crash, and Cook figures if the accident had happened just a second later, things may have been much worse for her.

Policecharged a 27-year-old female resident of Pasadena,under the Highway Traffic Act for failing to stop at a stop sign.

Waiting game

Despite the dramatic crash, and the wreckedvehicles, everyone was able to walk away from the scene.

But Jocelyn Cook's night became incredibly frustrating and disappointing.

The first responders suggested she go to Western Memorial Hospital. Cookdeclined an ambulance because she didn't think she was considered an emergency something she thinks twice about now.

Instead, sheand her passengergot a ride to the hospital with a friend.

When they got there they went through triage. Her passenger was sent through fast track and was able to go home.

Cook had complained of some pain in her neck, and triage determined she neededto wait to see an emergency room doctor.

"So we waited. And we waited. And we waited. And we waited."

Bymidnight, Cook had waited four hours and was incredibly tired. Hospital staff couldn't tell her how long more the wait would be.

Two hours later, she inquired again, feeling exhausted and with a headache. Still no timeline.

"The wait seemed to be endless, and there was no encouragement that things might come to a conclusion pretty soon," Cook said.

"I cannot wait any longer. I am totally wiped, and I have to go home."

Healthcare letdown

After six-and-a-half hours in the emergency room, she leftwithout being seen by a doctor.

"I just felt really, really let down by the health care system," Cook said."What is considered an emergency?"

In a statement Thursday afternoon, Western Health said emergency room patients are seen based on the urgency of their situation.

"On Thursday, May 4,the Emergency Department at WMRH saw more than the average number of patients with almost half of these people arriving after6 p.m.which may have contributed to a patient's wait time that evening," the health authority said.

Cook called her family doctor the following Monday but couldn't get an appointment for two weeks.

She regrets not taking the ambulance to the hospital, because she thinks she may have been seen faster.

"I think the order of priority needs to be re-established for people to be seen in emergency situations."