[gfmucci]

Yes, the nurses and even the doctors may be great.* And triage is essential.* However, like any "service provider", especially hospitals and especially ERs, good, responsive service is important.* Poor service is not the nurses fault, it is not the doctor's fault.* It is the hospital management and regulators fault.* The infrequent long wait I can understand.* The reptitious, consistent long wait is inexcusable.

There are ways to effectively measure the level of service acceptable and unacceptable in an ER.* While it is not cost effective to have 100 doctors waiting on standby for the man with a broken wrist (that comment would really be considered offensively condescening if I were that man waiting 4 hours!) I would certainly expect responsive treatment.* Four, six, eight hour waits would indicate lack of facilities or lack of staff, or lack of management skill or hospital regulators who have other agendas.*

There is always a reason or "excuse" for poor service, but when it occurs consistently, management/ownership/regulator is the reason, and their reputation will suffer.

What we really don't know in this situation is whether the "level of service" at this particular hospital is at the acceptable level for the industry or not:* average/maximum wait times, processing times, treatment times, etc.* Do the handful of maltreated individuals expressing themselves on this thread reflect the experience of unacceptable numbers of patients based on national standards, or just a small minority within acceptable limits?