Probably, said the on-duty ER physician:
The Saint John hospital emergency room was crowded and over capacity the day Lillian Mullin, 78, was sent home with the bowel problems that killed her 24 hours later, a doctor told a coroner’s inquest on Thursday.Dr. Tushar Pishe was on duty at the ER when Mullin arrived with abdominal pain and severe diarrhea in February 2005. He told the jury that “it was a zoo” in the emergency room, and in a situation the hospital calls Code Orange, which means no beds are available and patients are placed in the hallway.
Pishe was asked if Code Orange can affect his decision to admit or discharge a patient. He said he tries not to let it happen, but he said it can be a factor.
