Torres, chairman of the House Committee on Health, Education and Welfare, said in an interview that his office has been receiving complaints from patients and their relatives who were made to wait for two to three hours in the CHC emergency area.
He said the patients were told there was only one doctor working on a 12-hour shift.
Torres, R-Saipan, wrote a letter to Public Health Secretary Joseph Kevin Villagomez regarding this issue.
The lawmaker said he asked Public Health to respond to 12 other health care concerns.
In its reply to Torres, the department said the patient waiting time for emergency room service takes anywhere from one to four hours or longer depending on the patient’s complaint.
However, the department added, if the patient has signs and symptoms of a cardiac arrest, for example, he will be seen immediately.
But patients with symptoms like cold, coughing, fever or stomach ailments might have to wait until the emergency room staff takes care of those with urgent cases, the department said.
This practice, Public Health said “is not uncommon…in any public or private health care facility.”
Going to one of CHC’s clinics, Public Health said, does not always guarantee that a patient would be seen immediately if he does not have an appointment.
Public Health said it can propose a different practice model which involves assigning all patients with a primary care physician.
This practice might reduce waiting time and reduce the use of emergency room as clinic, as it will provide the patient with access and consistent care, the department said.
It added that this practice also allows the physician to develop better rapport with the patient and institute preventive measures and better understanding of what the patients need for his immediate and long-term care.
