QEII – Halifax Infirmary

I’ve worked with students in a handful of universities over the us and Canada and have taken them to a number of ERs, this is by far the worst. I waited nine hours with a student who had rapid bruising. They told her not to eat or drink and in waiting so long she started to get bad UTI like symptoms. The staff treated her like she was luring to get in. When she finally did get in, they didn’t know why she was bruising along her veins and said it must be psychological. Their reasoning was that because she had headaches and rashes in the past, that there were too many body systems involved. That’s complete garbage. They didn’t even treat the uti because they lost her urine sample. The next day she went to a walk in and they diagnosed with uti and gave her meds. Their guess was that she already had a uti and no liquid for so long brought it out. The clinic also suspected the ER thought psych bc you can have psychological uti symptoms but they should have tested her. She never found out what the bruising was from.

To anyone complaining you have to realize it is the ONLY trauma centre in Halifax, it also get patients form ALL over NS because they are the only ones with most of the specialties that they have! The staff do the best as they can.

The wait times here are insane. I’ve ended up in the emergency department a couple of times and both times I was there for 5 – 7 hours before seeing a doctor. Others in the waiting room had been there even longer. I really don’t mind having people who are in worse shape than I am see a doctor ahead of me; that’s how it should be. That being said, it’s sadly inefficient when it’s busy, a sentiment vocalized by a few other patients I was waiting with. The waiting room is pretty small and as a lot of patients have family members with them, it fills up quickly. It can get to the point where some people had to stand up. The wait times seemed to be a result of not having enough staff on. It’s really not the staff’s fault; they’re human and can only do just so much.
On that note, the staff here are great, at least in my experience. The doctors, nurses and paramedics I dealt with with were all very kind and gentle with a focus on making the patient feel comfortable. I would give them a higher rating than I’m giving the hospital as a whole.

It seems a little taboo to write a review on an emergency room, nevertheless here I go. I have never had a very good experience at an ER, I understand there is a triage system but it can get a little frustrating to sit & wait for hours to see a doctor when you’re in pain & stressed.
I’ve been to this ER twice & both times I was shocked at how efficient they are & at how quickly we got in to see a doctor. The first time I was there it was due to a more serious situation so I understood why they were so quick but the second time I wouldn’t have necessarily deemed an emergency. My boyfriend had a large skin irritation that we were concerned about & because he got off work late our options for treatment were limited. I was convinced we would wait in the ER for hours before we got to see a doctor that late at night with a non life threatening issue. We consulted 811, which is an amazing service, & they recommended we go to the ER, so off we went. We were in and out in an hour and a half & that included waiting 20 minutes after being administered medication. Normally I’ve waited that long just to talk to a doctor, let alone receive treatment.
Since we drove down we parked in the parking garage & I was worried we would rack up quite the bill by the time we left, but this wasn’t the case. When you visit Emerg, they validate your parking & you don’t have to pay!
I don’t know if it was just a slow night or if this is their norm, but I was very impressed by our quick & efficient treatment.

I’ve been to this hospital’s Emergency twice. I ended up leaving before I saw a doctor both times. Most recently I went in at 2AM and left at 8AM without having been seen. 6 hours! When I asked the staff — y’know, am I going to be seen in the next hour or so? — they were apologetic but one guy was very rude. I understand that there’s a ‘triage score’ that determines the order in which people are seen, but it was getting pretty infuriating to watch an older gentleman, an older lady, a lady in a wheelchair, and another older gentleman get seen immediately while a couple with a baby had been waiting for almost as long as I had been! I finally just up and left. You’re better off dealing with your problem at home unless it’s a broken bone or something that requires stitches.
In addition, the waiting room is a joke. There isn’t enough seating for when it gets really busy. The seats they do have are terribly uncomfortable. There’s actually Tim Horton’s coffee cups just left sitting all over the place. The bathroom was also a joke.
Half the time the doctors are MIA for up to two hours and the nurses also tend to disappear for ten minute stretches from time to time. I timed it.

Care provided for my mother’s husband was excellent. All nurses and doctors were professional and caring. Overall great experience given the circumstances.

I’ve been here as a patient and I love my surgeon (Dr.Chad Coles) but today I am the worried daughter waiting to hear news about my mother. The waiting room next to ICU combined with the state of the washrooms has me furious. This is all before 9am… I was on the fence about posting pictures and writing a review at this time but with another 4hrs at my disposal… perhaps I will visit another section of the facility.

It’s a hospital. They took excellent care of my father in his final days and were more than gracious in accommodating my large family. Although, I’m pretty sure it’s up to the doctor and his team.

Let me start off by saying I am a bit biased when it comes to hospitals. Being from a city with soon to be equipped with *5* hospitals, I get a bit judgie.
The one thing that bothers me about QEII is the lack of description between the two locations. For eg. If you have to get blood taken you go to the Infirmary. If you have to drop stuff off you have to go to the other location on summer street… But they don’t differentiate between the locations. All forms say «QEII» not «QE-​summer street» or «QE-​Robie street» — and when you are not feeling well and parking costs you an arm and a leg its a bit annoying having to drive to another location…
Ok now onto the specific Halifax Infirmary.
The staff and volunteers are friendly. There is this awesome «quick check in» set up so you don’t have to stand in line! Everything is relatively marked with dots and colors to you can easily find your way, but if you get lost there are LOVELY people with red vests that will gladly, not only point you in the direction, but take you straight to your destination!
Parking is available on site. It comes at a price, and if you are planning on being a while I suggest you take transit. Nothing worse then having to be in hospital and then adding to your bill with a $ 17 parking ticket.
If you are in EMERG. There is a pink slip you can get from the information desk right as you enter, put it in your window and park for *free* in their designated parking area. No spot? No worry! Head on over to the parking structure and when you leave hand your parking ticket and pink slip to the lovely parking people and they void it all for you and you park for free!!!
Emergency times are always long. No matter the city or town. But here in Halifax, it seems a bit ridiculous. When I was there, there were people who had been waiting 7 hours to get stitches (this guy seriously needed to be stitched) —- granted we don’t know the behind the scenes, or how many traumas are coming in while we sit in the lovely tv’d waiting room. The intake nurses are lovely, and to the point. Sometimes registering can take a while, but hold onto that last remaining bit of patience and remember they are all probably working double shifts or just finishing that 14 hr drag and want be out of there as quickly as you!
All in all the hospital is clean and is well… a hospital. No one truly likes them or likes being in them, but I am sure glad we have one!