The story that a man died after waiting 34 hours in a Winnipeg emergency room for treatment has garnered a lot of attention on CTV.ca.
Many readers have written in with their own emergency room horror stories. Here is just one of them.
One year ago, a small cut on Rush Wenzoski's right hand turned into a four-day health-care nightmare.
When the five-centimetre cut became infected, Wenzoski's partner, Krystal Davis, drove him first to the emergency room in Beausejour, Man. Staff there said they could not care for Wenzoski and the couple drove 35 minutes to the hospital in Selkirk.
After a seven-hour wait in Selkirk, a doctor told them Wenzoski would need surgery and they were sent to the Winnipeg Health Sciences Centre.
A 45-minute drive later, the couple arrived at Health Sciences Centre, checked in with staff and were told a doctor would see them as soon as possible.
The couple waited for three days.
Wenzoski's hand was "swelling more and more by the minute," Davis told CTV.ca.
He had not been given pain medication or antibiotics.
Davis says she constantly asked doctors and nurses when they were going to get seen and they were always told a doctor would visit them soon.
"We were ready to walk out, but I knew that if we did, his hand would worsen," Davis said.
When a doctor finally examined Wenzoski, he cut into his hand and left the nearly eight-centimetre gash open, exposing joints and bones, Davis said.
The couple asked to change hospitals and they were sent to St. Boniface. Wenzoski was treated immediately and remained in hospital for two weeks, during which time he was rehydrated and given antibiotics.
He now has a permanent four-inch scar on his hand. Despite undergoing physical therapy his hand no longer has a full range of motion, which affects Wenzoski's work as a mechanic.
Davis says the couple thought about seeking financial compensation for their ordeal. But, "we're not going to waste our money on a lawyer."
With a report from CTV's Stacey Ashley.
