The parents of the new Brunswick boy say they are angry after being asked to leave the hospital emergency room as he is said to be noisy while waiting for his son, who has ADHD and autism, is waiting for a seizure.
Lorissa and Glendon Kingston brought their 7-year-old son, Kaden, to the ER department at St. John Regional Hospital on July 15th.
Caden, a nonverbal and epilepsy-stricken, has been suffering from seizures since birth and has recently had a longer episode.
“Absent attacks are much worse than where he is shaking. Absent attacks can cause problems, like brain damage,” explained his father, Glendon.
The family called the pediatrician's office and was encouraged to take Caden to St. John's Regional Hospital.
Lorissa says they were triaged by the nurse when they entered the ER and then they were told to wait in the waiting room in the child's RAZ (quick assessment zone).
She recalls that she was alone with her son in that particular room after another patient left.
“Then he started to get overwhelmed by all the seizures he had, so he would just scream and it would cause an explosion of voices that he really couldn't control,” Lorissa said.
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“So he started with them and the nurse came in and said, 'If he can't stop screaming, you guys wouldn't be welcome here because they're confusing the other patients.” ”
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Lorissa says her son explained to the nurse that she couldn't control Stim.
“She said, 'I think I need you guys to leave.' So we just got up and left, then followed the doctor. ”
Parents say their son feels discriminated against and they are upset that they are forced to fight for health care for him.
“We didn't expect to be kicked out of the emergency room while we were seeking care,” Lorissa said.
“(It) is basically a human right that you need medical assistance, you go, you get the help you need, and they've taken him away.
The ER was 206% capacity: Horizon Health
In a statement to Global News, Horizon Health Network said that it cannot comment on the details of the case due to privacy laws, but that it “want to express compassion for the child and his family in painful and difficult circumstances.”
PAM Power, clinical executive director of emergency and critical care, said Horizon does not deny ER patient care and follows standardized triage protocols.
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“We aim to provide caring and comprehensive care for all patients, including making efforts to address patients who may have nonverbal, neurological elevation, or other communication or behavioral challenges,” she writes.
“Staff recommends providing quiet spaces where available and working with family and caregivers to understand and support the unique needs of patients.”
The statement says St. John's Regional Hospital, along with other regional hospitals, is facing important “capacity challenges.”
“As the date referenced, the SJRH occupancy rate for ED inpatients was 206%,” she added.
Power encouraged anyone with concern about their experience to reach out to the Patient Relations department.
Lorissa said she showed Global News a copy of the email she sent to the department on July 15th, but had not received a reply.
She added that in the past they were seeking medical care and when Caden had been experiencing vocal stims, they were given another room but had never been denied care before.
Meanwhile, the Kingstons hope that talking about their experiences will enact change, as they know that if Caden needs a doctor's appointment, they will have to continue to go to the hospital's ER.
“In the future, I know I'll bring him back if he has to go back, but the thoughts are still in my head: “What if they kick us out again?”
“Oh, yeah, I'm sure he'll get the help he needs.” I know they have the power to do it, so I just want to do something to those who have reached out to them. ”
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