UH Lake West Medical Center

"This ER is absolutely terrible. Avoid at all costs. I was too sick to know my husband was driving me here instead of to Euclid. I haven't gone here in 10 years because I know how awful it is, nothing has changed. It was put that I left AMA but staff couldn't find the ER doctor so nobody advised me not to leave. They did get me back fast but then back out to the waiting room where nobody checked on me for hours told them I was having pain again and cramping was ignored (was not given any opiods was not asking for them)"

"Never, ever, ever use this ER. Almost any other in the area will get you in faster. Beds are always full and you suffer and wait for hours every time. I’ve never had or heard of a quick experience here. It’s not all the hospital’s fault, but we need higher saturation of emergency rooms in this area, to start with. I came in with a hypertensive crisis and sat for hours before I decided to leave and go to another ER 15 minutes away. When I got there, they stat got me in a room, chest xray, ct scan of my head, blood drawn, and medication to get my blood pressure down all within the first hour of me walking in. What I had going on was a serious emergency, and it’s terrifying that the hospital closest to me couldn’t take care of me and is potentially losing patients that they can’t get around to treating before it’s too late. The 15 extra minutes I drove to get to Beechwood still probably saved me hours and potential serious complications occurring. I’ll never risk my life at Lake West again."

"This emergency room needs a complete overhaul. The amount of time spent waiting is ridiculous. Sat waiting for over 6 hours never got a diagnosis. I kept asking what was taking so long said they were waiting on test results, my test results had already posted 2 hours before to MyChart.I'm usually a very cooperative patient but this visit was the worst I've ever had, never again"

"The PA, x-ray and lab all deserve a 5 star rating they were excellent. The nursing staff not so much which is why a 3 star. I get it’s a rough job but the way they speak and treat their patients is unacceptable especially one nurse I encountered today there she was very rude and seems to not care at all. I never got a room at all just brought back several times from the waiting room to do blood work and X-ray then placed right back in the waiting room which for someone having chest pains seems unusual they wouldn’t be placed on a monitor at the very least but to sit in the uncomfortable chairs in the waiting rooms for hours was insane. I will be anxious to see if my insurance was charged for a room when I never seen one except to be discharged, crazy right? You finally get a room just to discharge you."

"I told the woman at the front desk ER how I’d come from urgent care and she immediately cut me off asking for the last four of my social. After providing it to her I told her I believed it was my appendix and got me in right away to an office area where a man with zero empathy took vitals and had the new guy try and find a vein. Because I was dehydrated from vomiting he struggled to fine one and the tenured guy took over. I have bruises and holes everywhere. I was sweating and could not sit up straight and told him I needed to lie down. Robert abruptly told me he didn’t have any beds as if I should have already known that. I started crying because he just made the situation twice as bad as it already was. This guy should not be training anyone. They got me into a recliner and gave me pain meds. They first gave me morphine and it made me loopy but did not touch the pain. After I said something they told me they only gave me 2mg instead of the normal 4mg. Then gave me fentanyl which lasted about an hour but with relief. They then gave me something else that helped. When we asked how much longer for the ct scan we were told they were still waiting on the urine test results from the lab and the lab hates them so they usually take a long time. The CT guy was very nice and caring. It took several hours before I got to a room in the ER. What a nightmare. I was told a surgeon would be in soon to talk to me. That was about 10 hours later. They also told me they would get me swabs for my mouth since I wasn’t aloud to eat or drink anything. I had to ask twice. They gave me a toothbrush with water until the swabs came. The staff there do not communicate with one another. My aunt came up and the people in the ER as well as the nurses station were chit chatting and on their phones and extremely rude as if she was inconveniencing them. The second nurse I had Terry was amazing running from room to room. They had people on beds near the nurses station out in open. I did not get into surgery to remove my appendix until 22 hours later. I didn’t get admitted until after my surgery. The surgeon was amazing and so were the nurses and the anesthesiologist. I saw several empty rooms with empty beds which led me to believe they are simply understaffed. I don’t plan on going back here. Hoping other ERs have better staff that know how to treat people like decent human beings. So sad."