Visiting the Emergency Room to see your sick relative

Nov 30, 2014 News

(The perspective of Dr Zulfikar Bux, Head of GPHC’s A&E; Asst. Prof. of Emergency Medicine)
It’s never good news to hear that a relative or a friend is a patient of the emergency room. A visit to the emergency

Dr Zulfikar Bux

room usually means that the patient’s condition is grave enough to warrant tension and anxiety amongst friends and relatives. This triggers the phenomena of everyone wanting to see the patient to ease their anxiety and can cause an influx of friends and relatives to the emergency room (ER).
The will to see a sick relative and to know of their condition is strong but is also a normal human reaction during such stressful times. This usually puts relatives into a collision path with emergency room staff whose first instinct is to protect the interest of all the patients.
On a ward patients are generally more stable, have known conditions and have better access to privacy. In the emergency room there are unstable patients with undifferentiated medical conditions and less access to privacy. There can never be scheduled patient visiting times here; neither can patient visit times be prolonged. As much as we wish to ensure everyone is fully happy, it is not a reality given the nature of our patients and how they present. We always have to be prepared for the constant incoming patient with an unknown condition. Time is always against the staff in an ER. There are never moments where we can down tools because there is nothing to do. As much as time for patient care is never enough, it is important to ensure that relatives and friends of patients have some of our time too.
The reality is that we cannot speak to every relative nor can we allow everyone to see a patient in the emergency room. The ER Physician is expected to inform the closest relatives of the patient’s condition and facilitate a short visit to the patient. The time spent with relatives varies according to the patient’s situation but should not hamper patient care. This balance can never be perfect and the ER physician should always err on the side of patient care whenever

It’s never good news to hear that a relative or a friend is a patient of the emergency room.

in doubt. Multiple patients are being taken care of in the same space of time in an ER and it’s important that every patient have similar access to care and privacy. Once the ER physician feels that this is adhered to, then he/she should allow time for relatives of the patient.
Time spent with relatives of patients is time lost away from direct patient care. Patients and their relatives will always need our attention. An ER Physician should always prioritize his/her time to ensure patient care is not compromised, but should also find a moment to appease the anxious awaiting relative.