Wouldn't An Uneventful Surgery Have Been Nice?

Kath & I decided to go get some lunch at the University Cafeteria instead of the good ol' Rainbow Cafe. While we were gone, I got a call from the cardiology receptionist saying that they hadn't received the orders for Nathan's echo and so they wouldn't be doing it today.

WHAT THE !*%@#$

Kath & I ditched our lunches and raced back to Primary's to go talk to the right department. I called the ENT first whose nurse said it was the sleep doctor who was supposed to send the order. I went to them and then they said they couldn't find that he ever needed one. I told them our plight and that Nathan was almost done in the OR. They called the charge nurse for the hospital and she then went with me to talk to the underpaid and under appreciated receptionist in cardiology. The receptionist was very MATTER OF FACT. That's when the charge nurse went and paged Dr. Park in the ER. Dr. Park came right down to talk to the nurse and gave the verbal go ahead for Nathan's echo.

The sleep doctor's department said it was cardiology's fault, ENT's nurse said it was the sleep doc's fault. Dr. Downey's office set up the echo, but said it was the ENT's job to send the echo order.

Do you see a pattern of pointing fingers and not taking responsibility?

I can't believe that someone in the chain dropped the ball and that Nathan almost got a separate trip to the OR just for a sedated echo. Everyone at Primary's works as a team, but no one wants to fill out the right paperwork. Good grief.

And the thing that made me the most upset? While I was downstairs chasing down the right people to get the echo done, Dr. Downey came searching for me in the surgical waiting area and I wasn't there. The receptionist assured me that Dr. Downey would come and look for me, but I want to know what happened now instead of in 3-4 hours when the doctor is done with a different surgery.

I have never been so infuriated at this hospital in the last 21 months as I have been today.