Diversions, requested by hospitals and approved by local officials who oversee ambulance operations, can endure for an hour or two, for most of a day, or sometimes for several days. But no matter where they go, patients are commonly assigned medical personnel too busy to provide the best care. I feel like I can't do well for the next person. You really don't know what's going on in the waiting room. The emergency medicine society, based in Lansing, Mich., is a 5,500-member professional group for emergency room doctors and nurses who practice, do research and teach at university hospitals.
Much evidence is anecdotal.
It is unknown how long people wait on average for emergency room care, or how much that wait has been extended. But blaming patients would be unfair, doctors and analysts said. Many are unable to get appointments at clinics or with other doctors. You're going to go to the emergency room. The picture is incomplete, as well, when it comes to what portion of ER patients give up and leave after long waits, or how many get sicker or die because of delays in care.