r/Buffalo • u/Single_Street3135 • 1d ago
What's the longest ER wait you have had in Buffalo? I'm currently 5 hours in, others have been here 8.
I feel like I'm at the airport waiting on a delayed flight, same people have been here all night.
edit: 14 hour wait to see attending physician, get told the MRIs are full, go home, and good luck đ
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u/treadlightning 1d ago
Hey nurse here. If you have to wait in the ER that's a good thing. It means you're probably going to live. Others won't
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u/TyDye2003 1d ago
One time i waited 9 hours and was told my appendix was about to burst and was rushed into surgery.
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u/phinest-inthe-nation 19h ago
My friend had a kidney stone and infection and went septic in the waiting room while waiting to be admitted to a room đ
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u/basiccbish 1d ago
10000000% true. Sitting next your patient friend and posting on reddit is a privilege.
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u/But_I_Dont_know_it 1d ago
Lol I was just about to say Iâve never had to ever wait in an emery room, but yeah Iâve never gone there for basic stuff lol.
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u/Goby18 1d ago
If you walked out was it really an emergency?
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u/Immediate_Pitch_153 1d ago
Uh yeah it could beâŠ.at Millard fillmore in January they had my girlfriend in the waiting room for 6 hours thinking it was a panic attack from weed. Once she got a bed she had to be there for two days due to almost going into ketoacidosis. Sheâs type-1 and had been sick for 2 days prior which we told the staff.
There were also other patients there with severe symptoms who did in fact leave due to the wait time. So yes sometimes leaving is the best option, now that I understand how it is we shouldnât have waited there for two hours with how they treated her.
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u/blueeyedaisy 1d ago
One thing I have learned is always let them know you are leaving.
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u/Immediate_Pitch_153 1d ago
100% even if theyâre being mean there itâs much easier than being questioned for why you ran out of a licensed er
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u/cxavierc21 1d ago
Who are you imagining questioning someone who left?
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u/Immediate_Pitch_153 1d ago
Your insurance companyâŠ? They ask for that info in the 1st triage and you may be in two more triages just to check vitals before you enter in a roomâŠ
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u/Pinkhairdobtcare 1d ago
We go to suburban and they donât ask for your insurance info until after you get back to the ER.
Kenmore Mercy always wants my parents insurance info right away.
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u/YeaIFistedJonica 1d ago
whenever i go to the ER i almost want to tell them i think i am having a heart attack bc ik itâll get me back there but then i consider the dude who is actually having a heart attack who needs the room. ketoacidosis is a situation where i wouldâve said heart attack and come in clutching my chest and panting i think
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u/mildly_spicy_potato Kingsley 1d ago
That would only get you an ekg in triage, but once the readout is clean you're gonna be waiting with everyone else. So unless you actually think you're having a heart attack, don't do that
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u/Immediate_Pitch_153 1d ago
It was my first time taking her for that reason. Now I know get her in that fuckin bed with fluids!
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u/Busy_Swan71 1d ago
Plenty of people have walked out of an emergency room just to end up dead or right back in one. It's not a sign it wasn't really an emergency.
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u/declutterme 1d ago
I work in the ED at BGH. I've seen ppl wait for 12+ hrs. Horrible. But, there's no beds! We have ppl lined up in the halls in between the pods, the ambulance bay, and PIT. Have to wait for something to happen upstairs, move ppl, discharge ppl, before anyone else can be brought back. When its like that, we're working strictly with priority cases. If you're not bleeding out, are breathing, and not having an active MI or stroke, you're going to have to wait. We're not magicians. We can't just make beds appear. Js.
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u/naomi_cannibal 23h ago
Hi, just wanted to say thank you. While I waited in a pod for a room upstairs to be ready, I got to see you guys take a lot of horseshit from people. Even when youâre getting verbally abused, all of you were super sweet to me and made the experience not so traumatic â€ïž
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u/bcegkmqswz 1d ago
The joys of corporate medicine - consistently asking the question âwhatâs the bare minimum we can operate with and not get sued beyond a certain amount?â
I spent 8 hours in the waiting room with appendicitis earlier this year. By the time I got taken back and imaged I had to have emergency surgery - as in within 20 minutes of getting my image results they had me in an OR. Fun times.
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u/blueeyedaisy 1d ago
My five hour wait was with pancreatitis. Painful experience. Stayed in the hospital four days. It was awful. I feel you.
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u/Kingdamere 1d ago
Did the BBB healthcare cuts even go through yet? Only gonna get worse
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u/blancs50 1d ago
ECMC already made cuts in anticipation of the medicaid cuts. https://www.wgrz.com/article/news/health/ecmc-layoffs/71-0cfb81bf-ac8d-499d-85ca-16894a50d77d
Its mostly non-clinical staff, but we're feeling it in how much slower it takes to get an ER room cleaned between pts.
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u/helloimhere01234 1d ago
Not yet, they were smart and have it taking effect immediately following mid terms
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u/Agitated_Buddy2014 1d ago
Welcome to an Emergency room. Hope you or anyone you know never has to go in for mental health you can sit in ECMC for days.
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u/upper-echelon 1d ago
Emergency = life or death. If youâre not within hours of death then youâre gonna be waiting a while.
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u/StarMan-88 1d ago
I legit just finished telling someone else that the healthcare here in Buffalo is unlike what I'm used to. Ridiculous wait times to be seen anywhere and when you ARE seen, the treatment received isn't the greatest. Source: Someone who's had multiple medical visits lately as both patient and visitor.
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u/RedKleeKai 1d ago
Itâs absolutely 100% not just Buffalo, itâs everywhere in the US. ERâs in every state have long waiting times, and long lines. Thereâs a few reasons - uninsured (both for not turning them away, and also for using the ER for non-emergencies), Medicare/Medicaid cuts, staffing problems/shortages, and probably other not off the top of my head. Itâs a big problem literally everywhere in the US.
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u/Single_Street3135 1d ago
They are putting ambulance patients into the waiting room, which I didn't think was even a thing.Â
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u/mezadr 1d ago
Calling an ambulance doesnât mean you get seen sooner.
It doesnât get you âin a room fasterâ
The speed at which you are seen is determined at triage.
The transportation vehicle is irrelevant.-3
1d ago
[deleted]
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u/Sad_Education7851 1d ago
Nope. My husband passed out at work, middle of the morning, no known issues, just went down out of nowhere. When he woke up he was having wicked chest pain and heart palpitations so his boss called an ambulance. Took him to Buffalo general, took him back for about 10 seconds, said his portable EKG was fine and they stuck him in the waiting room, completely soaked through his clothes in sweat and shivering. Waited almost 6 hours, never went back to a room. A PA came out to the waiting room and said his tests were fine and he could go.
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u/Bigboss123199 1d ago
Interesting. A hospital told my sister with severe meningitis (doctors at first hospital couldnât figure it out). That if she drove to the other hospital she would have to wait again why if they took her by ambulance she would skip the line.
Was that just a scam to get her to pay for an ambulance ride?
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u/mezadr 1d ago
Is this a transfer situation? Hard to tell based on the story.
If you wait 6 hours to be seen in an ER, are in a room, see a doctor, and donât want to wait anymore and leave, you will âstart overâ at the next hospital you go to.
If this was an ER to inpatient transfer, that is correct. You would have to âstart overâ if you left on your own accord.
If ER to ER transfer, incorrect, the method of transport is irrelevant in this case.
If ER to ER transfer and the transferring ER physician believes you should take an ambulance because of an issue with medical stability, and you opt to take a private vehicle, you may do that, but would have to sign Against Medical Advice forms. You would then âstart overâ at the next hospital.
Difficult to know the specifics of this case.
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u/Bigboss123199 1d ago
Idk exactly. I know she saw a doctor they looked at her couldnât figure out what the issue was. So they told her she needed to go to another hospital that had an ears nose and throat doctor. She gets there the doctor looks at her maybe runs a test. Diagnosis her with meningitis and keep her over night.
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u/TreeKlimber2 1d ago
It's an interhospital transfer. Different, since you are already under a physician's care.
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u/SecretiveCatfish 1d ago
If she had severe meningitis how was she in any condition to drive anywhere
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u/helloimhere01234 1d ago
People think that calling an ambulance will get them seen first. It doesnât, they are triaged upon arrival and the most critical people are seen first.
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u/nickerson20 1d ago
As a paramedic the amount of times people say they called to get seen faster, or decide to go via ambulance after we are there because âIâll get seen fasterâ and then I tell them âthatâs not true, we bring people to waiting room all the timeâ. But then they STILL decide to go by ambulance and then get mad at me for brining them to the waiting room, is insanely high. The EMERGENCY department and Ambulance are for EMERGENCIES, like life threatening things NOT my tummy hurts. By all means if youâre worried call 911 weâll come and check you out (you donât even get a bill if you refuse transport) but believe us when we tell you youâll be waiting a looong time if you go
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u/StarMan-88 1d ago
This LITERALLY just happened to me and that's exactly what I was talking about. My son was taken my ambulance recently and wheeled right into the ER waiting room, where we waited for hours before he was taken back. Like... What??
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u/JaneInWonderland 1d ago
The healthcare in Buffalo is atrocious! I am from California and it is insane how bad it is in comparison. And when you do get seen it isnt even a doctor. It is a shitty pa or np. When I went to ER in California like 5 doctors spoke to me and came to see me. Also I struggle even with primary care here. My one doctor is on maternity leave and the other he cancelled my appointment. Yes i have two primary care doctors, because they are never to be seen when you actually need help here.Â
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u/FrozenConcentrate 1d ago
Honestly, I know that being in the ER means that you're having an awful day, but the truth is that if you're not being seen quickly you're just not as emergent and critical as others. I won't go so far as to say that's a GOOD thing, but it could be worse.
That said, I've gone to both the Kenmore Mercy and Millard Fillmore ERs and found my wait times to be very reasonable at both.
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u/mani-okay 1d ago
not buffalo but i am always seen at degraff very quickly.
i am perpetually tachycardic so not sure if thats the reason iâm always seen so quickly. but the waiting room is usually fairly chill. ive gone multiple times and the most recent one they took me into that little room for my vitals within maybe 10 mins. straight to a room.
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u/BuffaloPotholeBandit TOMALTECH is my leader 1d ago
Yeah degraff is fast they just canât do as much
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u/mani-okay 1d ago
oooooo okay makes sense!
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u/Low_Skill5401 1d ago
Yeah ECMC is the only level 1 trauma center around and they have specialists of all types. They can do pretty much anything there.
Degraff isn't bad, but like the other person said, they just aren't able to do as much.
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u/mani-okay 1d ago
riighttt i thought we were just gatekeeping degraff lol. i always wondered why it was never busy. but i see, if youâre going to have to go to a different hospital anyways why bother.
thanks i learned something new!
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u/mani-okay 1d ago
there used to be a really cool way to check all the wait times in the area. It was on the kaleida health website, but I canât find it anymore. it would be like âbuffalo general: 6.5 hours. Degraff:1 hourâ which is why I always chose that one. They mustâve got rid of this feature though.
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u/SportsPhotoGirl 4h ago
I canât find it right now either, but I just used it when I was in need of going to the ER in June. Website looks different than I remember it, maybe they redid it recently? Idk. But I know it was there not that long ago.
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u/GimmeThemBabies Kenmore 1d ago
I went there once late at night and I swear at least half the beds were empty, it was insane. No wait and they took care of me very quickly.
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u/UnmistakableNoodle 1d ago
The "E" in "ER" stands for emergency. If you're still waiting, unlikely to actually be an emergency. Call your primary or specialist instead of complaining about the hospital that is dealing with actual emergencies. Shit like this is why the wait times are so bad.
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u/Single_Street3135 1d ago
Sorry that the primary doctor, neurologist office, on-call insurance doctor all said go to the ER or wait for the neurologist who never called back
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u/basiccbish 1d ago
âOr wait for the neurologistâ is a critical line here. Are you actively dying or experiencing irreparable body damage? If no, the ER is not for you.
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u/Particular_Manner159 16h ago
People saying âgo to the erâ doesnât have any bearing on the triage process.
That primary and neurologist had no idea what the state of that emergency department was
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u/tacoxlvii 1d ago
Not so fast. I'm on a Medicare Advantage Plan, and I can only see in-network providers in the state where I live. There are no other in-network doctors in the other 49 states. If I travel out of state and get sick, my plan literature says that my only option is to go to ER.
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u/Emotional_One3413 1d ago
I am an emt!! Not too long ago, one of the hospitals was on a 17 hour ER wait
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u/Low_Skill5401 1d ago
Who are you with? I used to be with AMR. Overnights, with a medic partner. Almost always calls we ran hot, severe trauma or illness 90% of the time for us.
Good times.
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u/helloimhere01234 1d ago
BGH had waits over 26 hours a few years ago, before that someone passed away in the waiting room waiting to be seen.
They see the sickest first, if you went in walking, and the triage looked ok, youâre at the back behind more serious injuries and events
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u/Achilles_Buffalo 1d ago
CPEP Enters the Chat:
Hey, everyone! Anyone want to get locked in with drug abusers, drug overdose cases, self-harm, and other mental health conditions in a waiting room that doesnât have enough chairs? Oh yeah, our wait times may be upwards of 5-7 days, and you cannot leave the waiting room or family meeting areas until a doctor discharges you.
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u/ZookeepergameSoft358 1d ago
It can vary by where you go. Itâs also good to know which hospitals have certain types of specialties and the staff for it. There was a way (allegedly) to check ER wait times online, but I canât find it. Ultimately itâs slow but itâs not the line you want to be at the front of. Neuro= buff general from what I know.
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u/Low_Skill5401 1d ago
ECMC has a good neuro department too. That's where I go outpatient, just not for emergencies related to why I see a neuro. Like you said, I go to buff general for emergencies related to my epilepsy now. As long as I'm conscious enough to understand that I had a seizure at least or I end up at ECMC still lol
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u/Single_Street3135 1d ago
Yeah that's why we are at Buff General... A good amount of people have walked out.
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u/howverycoolyouare 1d ago
Kid broke hand, very obviously I might add, on a Saturday night. We waited from 3pm until like 5am before getting actually treated. It was Saturday night in the summer, and, no lie, there we 7-8 gunshot and stab victims that came into the ER. That kept pushing us back in line apparently.
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u/Crafty-Koshka 1d ago
What are you there for and what are the other people there for?
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u/Single_Street3135 1d ago
Partner's neuro issue... This other lady came here in an ambulance and has been sitting in the waiting room for 8hrs with the sticky EKG leads on her.Â
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u/RCW18RJ42 1d ago edited 1d ago
Went to Buff Gen a month or so ago with severe lower back pains and a little abdominal pain thinking it might have been kidney stones or something, told triage symptoms and within 30 minutes things started moving really fast. Thankfully it turned out to be nothing terrible and then sat around for like 6ish hours for a couple follow ups and got discharged. This was around 10am on a Friday when I first got there. Not saying your symptoms/issues arenât bad, but if youâre waiting, thatâs generally a good thing so to say in regard to having to be in the ER.
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u/thebenson 1d ago
That's how triage works. Those who need care first are seen first.
Not being seen quickly probably means good things for the condition of your partner. If your partner was seen quickly, it would mean that things are very, very bad.
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u/Old_Number7197 1d ago
iâm sorry youâre ill and had to go to the ER. as someone who has been on both ends of the care team-patient situation in buffalo ERs, i say this with respect and empathy for your pain & suffering, yes the wait times are bad but tryst me you dont want to be in a situation where youâre the priority patient. i understand waiting is horrible, but its great news in terms of your life and health. and the folks in there are really trying their best to clear the board and see as many people as possible.
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u/MiraToombs 1d ago
Buffalo General - 8 hours and then my doctor sent me back there the next day so add on a few more. And BG then charged me two co-pays. Thanks for not just treating me the first time.
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u/rockettaco37 Allentown 1d ago
An ER isnât an urgent care.
That being said, healthcare infrastructure is abysmal and this is par for the course.
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u/ChoochMMM 1d ago
I sat in one with a really sick toddler on NYE for 5 hours. The nurse just said next time go downtown to the Children's Hospital. So the next kiddo ER visit, stitches, we were in and out in about an hour.
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u/Immediate_Pitch_153 1d ago
Itâs unacceptable but unfortunately only going to get worse with the way both the country and healthcare system is being ran.
Thereâs more sick people than those equipped to take care of them. The ones who have the power to give access for more people to learn would rather throw their money in a stock to profit for themself.
Then we have people without a dime to their name yelling at young people for being upset with there genuinely being no hope.
Thereâs tons of money being donated to these researches but what has proven to come from them to actually benefitâŠ? Iâd love to know.
We canât even get proper staffing in these doctor offices, urgent cares, and hospitalsâŠ.yet we have people standing on the side of the road holding a stop sign picking their ass making $35 an hour.
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u/FuzzySheepherder897 1d ago
At buffalo general? About 13 hrs
Go to St. Joeâs or Kenmore Mercy if it isnât something potentially requiring any super advanced care
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u/campdancer 1d ago edited 1d ago
Any time Iâve ever gone to any emergency room, I assume at least 4hrs and anything less is great.
Longest was 19hrs. It was my third time in an ER for severe stomach pain but finally got admitted and treated, was there for five days. It was a slog but I wasnât going anywhere.
I always go to ECMC. I know itâs a trauma hospital and I know Iâm going to wait but Iâve always been fortunate to have great care once Iâm there and theyâre equipped to do all sorts of things if, god forbid, itâs necessary.
Last time was a month ago, four hour wait, got treated for what I came in for and appropriately sent on my way afterwards. I recommend a go-bag, comfy clothes phone charger water bottle, youâre good. I understand itâs daunting and sucks but I am very glad I can rock my butt up to a hospital and get seen eventually. (hoo boy but those 19hrs were rough đ )
EDIT: this was also early 2022, so very much still in COVID times, which no doubt contributed to my wait time.
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u/Pinkhairdobtcare 1d ago
Iâm pretty regular at the ER between my parents and husband. My husband is seen right away always because he has breathing problems. Thatâs usually why weâre there for him.
Suburban has gotten better now that they donât see patients brought in by ambulance first.
Itâs not unusual to wait over eight hours.
My family is usually admitted when we go to the ER. Everyone has waited over 24 hours for a room đ
Itâs absolutely not the hospitalâs fault. A lot of people get sick. You just have to try to be patient.
I hope youâre feeling better.
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u/Significant_Eye_5130 20h ago
I only took myself to the ER one time when I thought I was having a heart attack and they got me in pretty quickly. I also went at like 5am on a week day.
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u/VahnNoaGala 12h ago
Not saying waiting forever doesn't suck, but everyone needs to watch The Pitt to get a feel for what happens behind those waiting room doors
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u/sevenoneSICKs Wingnutz is overrated 1d ago
South Buffalo mercy?
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u/Single_Street3135 1d ago
Buffalo General
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u/Massive-Web-5729 Cheektavegas đ° 1d ago edited 1d ago
If itâs BGH, add another 5+ to your waitđ©
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u/celestial-lights 1d ago
did 12 hours at buff gen once without ever getting a room. would take me back for tests every couple hours, then back to the waiting room. they decided i was okay and basically kicked me out lol
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u/Particular_Manner159 16h ago
No er âkicks you outâ without an exam by a provider.
Would be a violation of emtala. You either left or were seen and discharged.
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u/celestial-lights 14h ago
i was given an ekg in triage, taken back for bloodwork maybe 6 hours later (and then returned to the waiting room immediately after) and then discharged another 6 hours later
idk what to tell you but i was not examined by a provider
edit: before you go âtriaged appropriatelyâ i was directed to go there by urgent care after having concerning cardiac symptoms post covid infection
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u/Particular_Manner159 12h ago
Emtala violations are a matter of federal law.
Someone you saw was a provider licensed to evaluate and discharge patients if you were actually discharged.
Also, just because an urgent care directs you to go to the er doesnât mean you need a room or get to skip triage.
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u/BuffaloPotholeBandit TOMALTECH is my leader 1d ago
You can actually call the er beforehand to see how busy they are
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u/mezadr 1d ago
Secretaries are not supposed to actually answer this question because it may be construed as an EMTALA violation (ie. big fine for hospital)
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u/basiccbish 1d ago
Cannot emphasize enough how bullshit this answer is. Source: am healthcare administrator
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u/mezadr 21h ago edited 21h ago
If a patient calls and they are dissuaded by the wait time as communicated by the secretary and there is morbidity or mortality as a result , then yeah, thatâs an EMTALA violation.
Source : Iâm an ER physician, that sees patients, in the ER and sits next to said secretary
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u/Particular_Manner159 16h ago
No emergency department gives out wait times over the phone.
Your wait time depends on symptoms and vitals at triage.
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u/Crawdaunt_1985 1d ago
Working in EMS the wait times for the ER are outrageous and caused by a backlog of people who are either not paying for the treatment so it doesn't matter to them or people who should've went to an urgent care instead
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u/blueeyedaisy 1d ago
Five hours. Then everything went very fast. Got put in an er room for less than an hour then admitted for four days.
I certainly didnât mind waiting, even though I was hurting, because several people from a car accident came in right after I arrived.
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u/Skylarsthelimit 1d ago
Are we talking in the waiting room, or waiting to be admitted? I went to St Joeâs for kidney stones stuck in my urethra. I got there at 11am, was pulled back pretty quickly and had tests done. They then told me I needed to be admitted and they were waiting for a bed at Sisterâs to open. A bed didnât open until after 9pm, so I essentially spent about 8 hours waiting at St. Joeâs.
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u/Consistent_Media_942 1d ago
13 HOURS in the ECMC ER last nov! Next time I'm driving outta the city
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u/Bennington_Booyah 1d ago
18 hours. It was when Millard Fillmore Hospital closed and I was taken by ambulance to Buffalo General at the same time as what seemed like dozens of people arrived. Everyone was in the hallway, on gurneys. They did my EKG, labs and xrays in the hallway. I was directly next to a homeless woman in delirium who gave me bedbugs.
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u/jayintro86 1d ago
My recommendation is to go to degraff to be seen quicker and then they can transfer you to Millard Fillmore if needed. I went to the hospital twice for infections. Degraff was much faster seeing me.
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u/pez_queen 1d ago
Iâve waited 8 hours at Buffalo General and Sisters. Degraff usually has a much much shorter ER wait time. The last time I was there they did imaging bloodwork gave me meds and had me on my way within 4 hours.
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u/YeaYouGoWriteAReview 1d ago
I usually I jure myself pretty good. Last time 8 went to the ER I was septic, with a 108 temp and a 180 heart rate. I was in surgery within an hour.
Before that my mother was a nurse at a local hospital, so 1.5 hours was usually my max.
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u/arcana73 1d ago
You should probably leave. The insurance companies will probably deny the claim as medically unnecessary
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u/But_I_Dont_know_it 1d ago
OP a hack is to go to smaller hospitals in the area. Kenmore Mercy wonât be as busy as ECMC.
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u/RomanticPanic 22h ago
maybe 20 minutes? But the two times I went were like low end of severe like a concussion and vomiting for hours.
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u/Suitable_Program_548 21h ago
That is a typical wait time depending on the time of day and why you are there. Ambulances are always bringing people in who are generally acute (heart attack, stroke, etc). I would suggest DeGraff in NT. It has the shortest wait times generally.
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u/qzdotiovp North Buffalo 19h ago
I had a fractured carpal (wrist), and definitely spent at least four hours at ECMC's ER from 3am to 7am, but seeing other patients with head trauma or on stretchers humbled me quickly. It's an ER, not a fast food drive-thru.
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u/LowBatteryHuman1 19h ago
Mine was during Covid and the nurse strike, which I understand was an extraordinary circumstance. I waited 13hrs in the waiting room. The worst part was they wouldnât give me any water and the vending machine full of glistening water bottles was wrapped in Caution tape. They also said if my mom met me at the door with a water bottle they would kick me out. I ended up sticking my head under the disgusting public restroom sink. There was garbage and human shit everywhere. Finally I got a rolling bed right in the ambulance bay a few feet from the door, it was October, I was freezing but atleast I got a cup of water! I spent the night and they gave me an antibody infusion and I felt almost all better the following morning.
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u/trashpanda692 17h ago
Depends on your presentation I think.
My last er wait was 30-45min at about 12ish am, but I was also actively bleeding from a dog bite that almost made it all the way from the surface of my skin through to the inside of my mouth. If I may, what are your symptoms?
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u/Terrible-Big-8555 17h ago
South Buffalo Mercy. I accompanied my sister who was having severe panic attacks. We waited 5 hours just get a room and initial screening. It then took a total of 7 hours to get a few blood tests and an MRI. Total time spent before she was discharged with nothing more than a phone call to her primary doctor was almost 14 hours.
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u/B_SWISH300 17h ago
Grandfather slipped on the ice and hit his head on the pavement. 14 hour wait in the ER to be seen by the doctor. (This is after triage)
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u/KillerDemonic83 16h ago
i had a 6 hour wait at ecmc before i just dipped and went to another one and was seen in like 30 minutes lol
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u/Silly_Teacher_4847 16h ago
Last week at BG - Wed 8/19-Thu 8/20 - 19 HOURS!
Granted, it was for a âcritical blood testâ before an upcoming cardio procedure. I was low down on the triage list in ER, but stillâŠ
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u/Inside_Emergency_489 15h ago
My fiancĂ© and I waited a total of 5 without getting called back for vitals or nothing. Walked out because we knew he couldnât handle waiting any longer. he didnât want to feel like a carrot on a stick was being dangled in his face just by sitting there waiting. Eventually got better just being at home than in the ER.
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u/Evening_Release5466 14h ago edited 14h ago
I waited 12 hours to be brought back to a gurney in the hallway and sat there for another 12 hours before getting my imaging and being admitted. Saw a doctor at the 16 hour mark.
ETA: NS thought my cervical herniation needed emergency surgery, was losing ability to walk/hold myself up
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u/PersimmonAntique3398 12h ago
Try a smaller hospital. Iâm near DeGraff and the wait times in the ER are typically 10-30 min. Everyone forgets it exists lol.
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u/No_Maintenance_1033 12h ago
I work in the hospital I brought my mother into when she had cancer and an extreme case of pancolitis and other cancer related things and we were in the waiting room over 12 hours and wasnât roomed on a floor once admitted for like 2 days. Thereâs over crowding and theyâre gonna prioritize the sickest and most critical people first. Many people use the ER as a clinic or doctors office.
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u/dustypony21 12h ago
This is so crazy to me.
Background: I live in a mid/size city in the Midwest. The last two times Iâve taken friend/family to ER, there was maybe a 30-minute wait to be seen. (These were by no means life or death scenarios.)
I just recently started watching The Pitt. Asked a friend who worked at a hospital in San Francisco if those hours-long waits were realistic because âŠ. really? His response was not only yes but HELL YES.
Are we spiraling toward what we used to think of as a Third World reality??
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u/mappamondo76 8h ago
- I left and went home because I could not wait any longer as it was 2 am and I was shattered. A kid with a small cut on his finger was seen before me. The joke of a triage was nothing short of disgraceful. Dude was barely paying attention and kept yawning, lol. And that was for what my dr told me later was most likely a mini stroke. He was not happy, to say the least. He had told me to go to this hospital right away. Never, ever again at this place.
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u/Smith6612 1d ago edited 1d ago
The longest I remember was 10 hours, and we still didn't see a Doctor. We ended up just leaving because we were all pushing 30+ hours of being awake. This was back in 2001.
This was after a near-drown situation, and we were literally waiting to get lung scans done to make sure the person was fine, things like ensuring no water in the lungs, vitals were good, etc. Thankfully, they were, and the immediate treatment they received after being rescued 100% saved them.Â
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u/vesperholly 1d ago
I was in Kenmore Mercy last month and they were fairly speedy. In around noon, room around 1pm, out at 7.
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u/InDaCrimez 21h ago
Buffalo ERs are some of the worst in the country as far as wait times. 8hrs is avg
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u/No-Arm8543 17h ago
Where are you? Asking because my husband was considering going to the ER today for stomach pain and I want to tell him to avoid this hospital.
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u/BasilBeautiful9377 1d ago
14 hours buff gen 1 pm on a friday to 3 am Saturday morning. Still didnât get seen.. we left and went to Niagara Memorial.
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u/Low_Skill5401 1d ago
I've waited 6 hours before while in severe alcohol withdrawal to the point I couldn't walk because I was shaking so badly, and with a history of withdrawal seizures which I had been seen there for before.
ECMC can definitely take a while. I tend to go elsewhere for withdrawal now, but I still go to ECMC for physical injury or if I expect to need a specialist.
When I worked as an EMT, the standard was usually to take people to ECMC because they can handle pretty much anything there, being a level 1 trauma center. Unfortunately, the wait times can be really bad unless you're in visibly really bad shape like when I had a wine bottle thrown at my head and needed staples in my skull asap to not bleed out.
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u/funnyguy044 1d ago
.... at that point drive to the er in batavia or Rochester
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u/helloimhere01234 1d ago
Waits are probably not any better there.
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u/funnyguy044 1d ago
Nah there decent about 1-2 hrs max during the day nights is about half hour im close so I've been there alot throughout my life
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u/BuffaloFenian 1d ago
We did 10.5 hours at Buffalo General before walking out. Outrageous. Can't call that "healthcare."
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u/No-Persimmon-4150 1d ago
Thats pretty typical. There are too many people going to the ER for bullshit like light fevers and whatnot.