York Central Hospital

I developed severe chest pain while driving down HWY 400...After speaking with my wife I got off the highway and drove myself to this hospital and walked into the Emergency department. While waiting to be examined, the pain became less severe.

After being examined by a doctor, to whom I described what had brought me to the hospital, I was repetitiously asked if I wanted codeine, which I declined, suggesting i'd rather know what was happening to me before being drugged. The doctor and her colleagues were not interested in cause of my pain. I was eventually sent away with an admonishment against seeking codeine without a prescription, despite the fact it was the doctor who kept offering it to me against my appeals for advice as to what was happening to me.

Later that day the pain worsened again, in a short time I was unable to breathe and had to be taken to another hospital in an ambulance. At that Emergency Department I was correctly diagnosed as suffering from a serious pulmonary embolism. My life was saved by prompt treatment at the second hospital.

After I was well I received a fund raising letter from York Central; I wrote back describing what had happened. The hospital's response was somewhat insolent, suggesting that I apparently did not understand the situation and how difficult it can be to diagnose in an Emergency department. I would have had more sympathy for this response had it not been so obvious that the doctor examining me decided before investigating my condition that I was an addict, which I most certainly am not. I was dressed in business clothes, I spoke clearly and described my symptoms as clearly as i could, i can only assume that the doctor who examined me was not interested in looking further than a superficial presumption, made very early in the encounter. That presumption could have cost me my life.

In 2011 York Central was rated as the hospital with most nursing problems out of 18 hospitals in the GTA so I suppose it should have been no surprise to get the kind of care we got at this hospital. We were in the 3rd floor of the hospital. The elderly patient next to us was unable to control his bowel movements. You can imagine the discomfort in a closed room under these conditions. When we mentioned this to the nurses, instead coming and cleaning the room and this poor elderly man, they simply walked away. It took an hour for this man to get cleaned and by that time the smell in the room was unbearable. York central staff should be ashamed of itself.

Hi,

I was in York central hospital for 4 days in Four North section. there were a couple of problems: 1. there was no shower, actually to be accurate there were no showers with hot water. There was a male nurse, name Shahin, he was the meanest nurse I've seen in my life. He was not my nurse directly, but he did everything he could to make my stay miserable:
My nurse were talking to me about how I am feeling, and in the middle, he interrupted me, that he wanted to take away my IV machine. 2. He moved a visitor chair three times beside my bed, and blocked my way out of bed. 3. My two backpacks were on the floor beside he said here is very dirty, so with my pain I got out of bed, and put them in locker. He brought a patient at 1:30 am , and he could everything he do to interrupt my sleep. he turned a very strong light, and he lets the door open, so it was like day, after I was getting my Migraine, I called a nurse, he came and said the patients want to get used to this place and she wants the light on, when he say my surprised, he asked and the other patient told she want the lights off, so he turned the lights off. every time he came to check on his patient he did not close the door properly, so I should have got out of bed and close the door myself, that night i did not get any sleep. I am going to send this feedback to hospital, and I hope he does not do that to any other patient. To be fair there were lots of good nurse too, but it needs just one nurse to make your stay miserable.