According to officials of the LBJ Tropical Medical Center, the average wait time to see a doctor at the Emergency Room has been reduced from 4 to two hours; but from senators’ accounts at a hearing on Tuesday they have waited 5 to 9 hours to see a doctor.
Testifying at the hearing were the Chairman of the Hospital Authority Board Mualeava Dr. Aifili John Tufa, CEO Scott Anesi, Medical Director Dr. Aitofele James Sunia and Director of Health Dr. Saipale Fuimaono.
Dr. Aitofele Sunia said their reports of the waiting time in the ER show an average of two hours. But they have been hearing many accounts of much longer waiting times similar to the senators’ accounts.
The LBJ Hospital has 98 doctors and 14 are assigned to the ER working 12 hour shifts…3 or 4 work in the ER, and 1 is assigned to the Non-Urgent Care Clinic.
Dr. Sunia said many patients seen in the ER are non urgent care patients. Nurses have been trained to triage patients quickly, and if they determine that tests are needed like EKG, x-ray, or blood work, to order them before patients see the patients.
With the RSV outbreak, there’s not a single shift without doctors and nurses calling in sick. Also when patients are brought in by ambulance, they get priority and this blocks the que in the ER.
Dr. Sunia told the hearing that on Monday night, 12 patients were brought in by ambulance. He also explained that doctors cannot rush their diagnosis and treatment of patients incase they miss something. For example, a patient that comes in with a cough, may have other underlying illnesses like hypertension, or diabetes, and those patients would take a longer time to be checked and treated.
Senate President Tuaolo Manaia Fruean inquired if the hospital has a system whereby critically ill patients are seen first, as is done off island. Dr. Sunia responded that patients who are critically ill, or need urgent care, are taken straight to see a doctor. Their files are not put on the rack.
Senator Tuanaitau Malaki Togiola, a dialysis patient, related that he was on dialysis when the power went off and when the hospital generator kicked in it kept going on and off. The information he received is that the hospital generator cannot absorb the hospital’s power demand.
Board Chairman Mualeava Dr. Afili John Tufa explained that a main generator had not been hooked up to the backup generator for the dialysis clinic during the mentioned outage.
But the problem has been rectified and during a more recent island power outage where power was out for 5 hours, the hospital was not affected as the back up generators were operating successfully. He said a new generator for the hospital is being ordered.
The Senate President and Senator Togiola Tulafono raised the issue of allowances for members of the Hospital Authority Board.
The Board Chairman said the board’s compensation is $1,000 per board meeting. They usually meet once a month, but sometimes if there are pressing issues they need to address, they meet twice a month.
Togiola read the statute governing the compensation of hospital board members.
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Dr. Tufa said the $1,000 stipend was passed by the previous board on advice of their attorney, Thomas Jones that the bylaws do not prohibit the board from approving its own compensation.
Togiola asked if the board’s bylaws can supersede the law. The chairman said in his opinion they cannot.
Togiola said the compensation for the LBJ Board was the same as that of the ASPA Board, as provided by statute. And the ASPA Board is following the law whereas the LBJ Board isn’t.
Dr. Tufa said the Board would review the compensation and perhaps revert it. Senator Togiola said the government should file a claim to have all board directors who were paid more than what the law allowed, repay the money.
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