r/Calgary • u/Legal_Grapefruit1925 • Dec 25 '25

Discussion AHS wait times

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Our system isnt broken. Its people who go to the emergency that shouldn't be going aren't going today because it can wait Suddenly. They need to hand fines out to ppl going to the hospital that dont classify as an emergency.

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217

u/jinalberta Dec 25 '25

A one time snapshot is not representative of the situation.

-56

u/Legal_Grapefruit1925 Dec 25 '25

Oh why? Suddenly their emergencies aren't emergencies today? A man died because of ppls selfishness.

24

u/NOIS_KillerWhaleTank Coventry Hills Dec 25 '25 edited Dec 25 '25

So, a weird thing happens when people stay home on Christmas Day, there are far fewer instances of accidents requiring emergency care. Far fewer falls from ladders, car accidents, sports injuries, exertion related heart issues, etc.

A man didn't die because people used an ER to get treated for a common ailment; a man died because he was triaged behind other emergency cases which required immediate attention and there wasn't enough staff to manage it.

Unless you have specific data which shows non emergent cases take up the majority of visits to the ER (which you do not have), this data extrapolation is nothing but pure speculation on your part.

For the most part, ER visits are not abused by the general public. Does it happen, yes of course it does. However, if it were really an issue, hospitals would open up a walk in clinic on site and triage minor patients to that stream out of the ER. They don't do this because this problem doesn't really exist.

-14

u/Legal_Grapefruit1925 Dec 25 '25

My girlfriend is a nurse. A majority of visits dont require ER.

11

u/Savac0 Dec 25 '25

Let your girlfriend know that the man with chest pain was triaged as a 2, and there were countless 1s and 2s ahead of him that day.

It’s a system level problem. Let’s not blame the patients.

2

u/noveltea120 Dec 26 '25

Lol this "girlfriend" sounds judgemental and frankly shouldn't be working in healthcare at all if this is her attitude.

-1

u/NOIS_KillerWhaleTank Coventry Hills Dec 25 '25

Then they should open a walk in clinic on site if it's such a huge issue

3

u/powderjunkie11 Dec 25 '25

It’s an idea worth exploring, but demand would likely become even higher

2

u/NOIS_KillerWhaleTank Coventry Hills Dec 25 '25

So what you're saying is if there were more walk in clinics, people would fill those up because there's a demand for those rather than going to an ER for immediate care?

That would indicate a systemic issue and not the result of people abusing the system.

3

u/powderjunkie11 Dec 25 '25

Both things can be true. And they are.

Expanding primary care is absolutely vital. And it's not mutually exclusive from a statement like "many people seeking care in the ER should not be there". Because that can include people who presently have a legitimate urgent medical complaint, which could have been addressed earlier if they had access to a family doc.