Woman Dies After Alleged 12-Hour Wait At Shands Emergency Room
Woman Complains Of Abdominal Pain, Dies Of Blood Clot
POSTED: 4:06 p.m. EST January 8, 2004
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A man is grieving the loss of his girlfriend after he said they spent half a day waiting at an emergency room without ever seeing a doctor. Now, that woman is dead.
Michael Speed still can't believe his girlfriend, 38-year-old Alberta Proctor, is dead. A blood clot killed her, and Speed knew she had a history of seizures. But he had no idea she was suffering a life-threatening condition.
In the weeks before her death, she went to Shands Hospital's ER twice.
"It was abdominal pains, and she said she could feel it moving. … She could feel it moving up inside her," explained Speed of his girlfriend's condition.
"We just sit there and sit there and sit there," he said.
On Dec. 22, Proctor went to Shands after having a seizure. Speed said they got there at 10 a.m. and she was triaged -- meaning someone in the ER took her vitals and evaluated her condition.
Speed said she didn't see a doctor until 11 hours later, and she didn't leave the hospital until 5 a.m.
On Jan. 3, Speed said he took her back to the ER at 2 p.m. with chest pains. He said Proctor was triaged at 2:15 p.m., then triaged again at 10 p.m. According to Speed, they sat there until 1:55 a.m. without seeing a doctor, and that's when Proctor said she was leaving.
"I tried to convince her to stay," Speed said. "I said, 'We already weathered the hardest part of the storm. Let's stay.' She said, 'No, let's go.'"
Just two days after the second ER visit, Speed called 911.
"Then she said, 'It's moving, it's moving.' Then she grabbed her chest," he said.
Proctor died before she even got to the hospital. Speed said if he could go back in time, he would have never left Shands Jan. 3. But he still wants to know why it was taking so long to see a doctor.
In a written statement, Shands said:
"Shands Jacksonville takes patient care very seriously, especially in an emergency. We have reviewed the police report and have also internally reviewed the care of this patient. Our goal is to see patients in a timely manner and length of stay will vary depending upon the symptoms presented by the patient and/or the severity of illness."
Speed said his healing would take some time. He's trying not to think of the "what ifs," but he said it's difficult.
Copyright 2004 by News4Jax.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Michael Speed still can't believe his girlfriend, 38-year-old Alberta Proctor, is dead. A blood clot killed her, and Speed knew she had a history of seizures. But he had no idea she was suffering a life-threatening condition.
In the weeks before her death, she went to Shands Hospital's ER twice.
"It was abdominal pains, and she said she could feel it moving. … She could feel it moving up inside her," explained Speed of his girlfriend's condition.
"We just sit there and sit there and sit there," he said.
On Dec. 22, Proctor went to Shands after having a seizure. Speed said they got there at 10 a.m. and she was triaged -- meaning someone in the ER took her vitals and evaluated her condition.
Speed said she didn't see a doctor until 11 hours later, and she didn't leave the hospital until 5 a.m.
On Jan. 3, Speed said he took her back to the ER at 2 p.m. with chest pains. He said Proctor was triaged at 2:15 p.m., then triaged again at 10 p.m. According to Speed, they sat there until 1:55 a.m. without seeing a doctor, and that's when Proctor said she was leaving.
"I tried to convince her to stay," Speed said. "I said, 'We already weathered the hardest part of the storm. Let's stay.' She said, 'No, let's go.'"
Just two days after the second ER visit, Speed called 911.
"Then she said, 'It's moving, it's moving.' Then she grabbed her chest," he said.
Proctor died before she even got to the hospital. Speed said if he could go back in time, he would have never left Shands Jan. 3. But he still wants to know why it was taking so long to see a doctor.
In a written statement, Shands said:
"Shands Jacksonville takes patient care very seriously, especially in an emergency. We have reviewed the police report and have also internally reviewed the care of this patient. Our goal is to see patients in a timely manner and length of stay will vary depending upon the symptoms presented by the patient and/or the severity of illness."
Speed said his healing would take some time. He's trying not to think of the "what ifs," but he said it's difficult.
Copyright 2004 by News4Jax.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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