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A lot of obvious questions arise from this scenario.

First, why does a severed finger not receive prompt medical attention? Actually, how does anything severed not garner an instant response? Putting aside the need to reattach the limb, the agonizing pain alone should be enough to qualify for immediate medical treatment.

It’s not good enough to say the wait for care happened because people with more serious injuries needed medical attention first. Telling patients they should actually feel thankful to sit in emergency waiting rooms for hours is an arrogant message by the health region. People with immediate, serious medical issues should receive prompt treatment — but so should the guy with the severed finger.

Second, why wouldn’t the RUH emergency staff advise incoming patients to go to City Hospital if they could receive faster care there? Why on earth would a nurse tell someone to sit in a dirty, disease-ridden waiting room with a severed finger for four hours, when a doctor ready to immediately treat the injury is less than five minutes away.

How is this situation even possible? It causes one to wonder whether there is any communication between hospitals at all.

A few months ago, on its website, the Saskatoon Health Region created the ability for anyone to go online to check wait times at all emergency rooms. Did the health region forget to tell its own staff about this new website feature?

It is not practical to expect family members, faced with a medical emergency with their loved one, to put all panic aside and check a website. They will immediately go to the hospital closest to them, which is always the wisest course of action. However, it is completely reasonable to have the emergency triage team at any hospital fully advised as to wait times at all emergency facilities, particularly when all staff have to do is check their own website. The person who told my friend it would be a minimum four-hour wait to reattach his finger at RUH should have been the same person who told him to go to City Hospital where he would be seen by a doctor right away.

Moreover, my friend arrived at hospital with a family member with a vehicle who was smart enough to call another hospital and take him there. Had my friend been alone and/or delivered by ambulance, he would have no choice but to accept the substandard care at RUH.

Yet another story that causes people to lose faith in our healthcare system.

Thanks to the doctors and nurses at City Hospital, my friend and his finger are doing pretty well. He’s in a lot of pain, but he’s thankful to have a finger, even if it does hurt.