“I'm screaming: I need help, I need help!”: A Montrealer recounts her “terrifying” visit to the emergency room

A young Montreal patient has never forgotten her recent visit to the emergency room, when she found herself alone in a cubicle without receiving care despite screaming for help to get up.

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“I have no voice. I was screaming: I need help, I need help!”, recalls 22-year-old Marika Lalim.

“This is not my first time in the emergency room. At least if they treat me well I can live with the wait,” she adds.

On April 12, the young woman lost consciousness and left in an ambulance. With strep, she hasn't eaten or slept in three days because of the pain.

Symptoms are worsening

The law student tried to make an appointment with her family doctor, but the clinic couldn't offer her anything for a week.

“I was vomiting, I couldn't hydrate myself,” she recalled. Symptoms are getting worse, I have high fever.

A patient arriving at the Royal Victoria Hospital emergency room was told he could wait 13 hours. So she took a taxi to the Jewish General Hospital, hoping to get quick treatment.

After a five to six hour wait, she was taken to a solitary cubicle on a stretcher. She felt nauseous and started vomiting in the trash can. Unable to get up, the young woman started calling for help.

“I tapped on the door with my foot to make a noise. People were passing by, they didn't do anything! She was angry, yet emotional. If I fall and hit my head, I'm on my own!

Marika Lalim, 22, in the emergency room of Jewish General Hospital. Courtesy Marika Lalime

Courtesy Marika Lalime

“He was yelling at me!»

After about 30 minutes, a nurse arrived, M recalled^me lime

“He told me: “Stand up!”, Related to the Montrealer, she laments her lack of empathy and her goofy appearance. He was yelling at me, but I couldn't get up! […] He left and I started crying.

After another 30 minutes, the nurse finally helped her.

“He grabbed me violently by the arm, he pitch On a stretcher and left,” explained the still-shocked student.

After nearly four hours in the cubicle, a doctor finally came and examined him and prescribed an antibiotic before discharging him. For the young woman, the nine-hour stay in the emergency room was “terrifying.”

“I just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible,” said the better student.

She has since lodged a formal complaint with the hospital about poor treatment. When questioned on the matter, the hospital management responded that they would look into the complaints “detailed and rigorously”. If necessary, processes can be improved.