Scripps Mercy Hospital San Diego — Attraction in San Diego

For years, I've had no problem with Mercy Hosp. (Scripps).It's steadliy gone downhill. More than just the quality. I don't even feel any compassion from almost 100% of staff. These people need to re-learn people skills, as well figure out how to be human. As serious as healthcare is, mercy folks have no clue. Communication went down the drain. Not only do those 'professionals' ignore patients, not explaining any situation to anyone, but they will NOT return phone calls. No respect whatsoever. My most recent hospitalization was a miserable disaster, one filled with no explanations from anyone, UNTIL I squawked loud enough. Was refused medication when requested, not allowed out of bed without supervison ( fall risk) NEVER offered soap, towel or other cleaning supplies (toothpaste only when I asked ). This was despite one of the nurses watching me wash up at sink with paper towels and soap from dispenser. Forget about dignity. Forget about being told the truth. I was so disrespected. even discovered later I was unknowingly given a med I am Allergic to, clearly stated on my list of allergies, which I had initally refused when first approached about taking it. Far Still, I was given it by IV. To be fair, I admit I was not the most docile patient. I will not just go long with whatever doctors want to do, especially without any discussion with me first. I speak up, loudly, until someone pays attention. Not one soul ever questioned me about 'why' I was in such a foul mood. Had good reason. They did not listen. They did not treat me with consideration as an ILL patient. They didn't answer my questions. One day they left me with no food. They lied to me. Doctor assigned to me never even allowed me to ask any questions. He skipped out as fast as he appeared!! BUT, the worst was giving me the medication I told them caused a great deal of pain!!! This borders on a lawsuit. And, I wondered just why I was hurting so much. AND, that folks is why I was a miserable witch. No one gave a hoot why, nor did they bother to ask. MERCY does not care. Blame all on the patient. At the end of my stay, Dr. Bey, hospitalist, took the time to talk to me, really talk 'with'me, found out what I needed, and got me out of there!! So grateful, for I felt if I were there any longer, they could have killed me.

After release, & some careful consideration, decided to report this atrocious treatment to whomever in charge. After many attempts going thru normal channels, with never a return call went to the top, the DR who is running Scripps Mercy. Although I found him receptive, & he said he'd do what he could to correct it, he turned me back to a woman who never returned calls. I did receive recap letter from her listing complaints, and assuring me that all would be addressed. Her list in the letter was far from complete, so I'm fairly certain not all were taken care of....perhaps they didn't think they were serious issues?

Had not learned about being given the med I'm allergic to at this point. The letter stated if i had any questions, I could call. JOKE. She has not returned one call yet. This is what prompted this review. Please don't bother to respond. You have had more than enough chances to do so. I 'm sick of all excuses why it hasn't happened either. I specifically requested the doctor follow up with me and tell me that these matters were in fact dealt with, or just dropped in circular file? Received a promise he would. I'm smart enough to understand they keep details from the patient, but that wasn't what I asked for. Guess he left it to his assistant, which falls down on the job always. No followup. Which is exactly the kind of medical treatment I received the last two times I unfortunately found myself a patient. I also realize I am now a ' marked'patient because I dared to complain. I don't care. This can't be allowed to continue, to have others be put at risk because I 'm afraid. I am not. Thanks to a scripps mercy doctor, I faced death right in the face, This WON'T happen again; at least not with Mercy....

5 /14 /19 UPDATE: After spending two weeks here this month because of heart problems I have the following additional observations to add to my January scathing review below. My first week stay on the 6th floor, a medical surgery floor was remarkably wonderful. Very attentive, professional and competent staff. They responded quickly to concerns, problems and my basic needs. Several years ago I spent four months on that unit and they saved my life....they are just as good now as they were back then. However when I was transferred to a higher level of care, the 11th floor step down cardiac unit, my life, health and feeling of safety were repeatedly jeopardized by staff failures, mistakes, incompetence, and management staff apathy. Frequently they did not respond to the call button for a long time. For this to happen on a cardiac critical care unit is both extremely unsafe and totally unacceptable. These kinds of mistakes kill patients. In one of my cardiac crisis events no one came to my room for 45 minutes after I pushed the call button, denying me the quick and responsive care I needed, and terrifying me.

I repeatedly pointed out this problem to the charge nurses and my attempts to have the unit manager talk with me were ignored. The same problem repeated today. Were it not for the fact that I desperately needed to have my surgery yesterday I would have left this hospital and gone to a different hospital. This is inexcusable malpractice.

1/24/19 I INITIAL REVIEW Scripps Mercy Hillcrest hospital had to pay me a lot of money for nearly killing me in a medical malpractice chemotherapy mistake several years ago. Unfortunately they have not gotten any better.... in fact in my opinion they are worse than ever. I have chronic heart trouble and have been taken there several times for cardiac emergencies. Their ER staff is often burned out, rude, inconsiderate, uncompassionate and inept. Perhaps (like at UCSD) they are burned out and callous because they have had to deal with all the dysfunctional homeless mentally ill drug addicts and alcoholics. They certainly cannot tell the wheat from the chaff and often treat everybody terribly.. and this is a Sisters of Mercy facility? God help us! This week I was taken there following an unconscious head injury after a pedestrian accident. My care in the trauma emergency room was very good, but when I was transferred to the old and dirty 10th floor trauma unit everything went downhill fast. No pillow, no socks, no water, no Kleenex, almost no staff help, and worst of all, despite being very injured and with a head injury, I was put in a double room with a dysfunctional patient in the other bed... When what I needed was dark and quiet, which was impossible to get. Nursing staff and the (student?) resident trauma doc ignored my pleas and requests, and my medical needs, and so I ended up signing out against medical advice to go home to get some peace and quiet and rest. To top it all off, after I signed the AMA discharge papers, my nurse Jessica refused to transport me in my injured condition to the front door in a wheelchair so I could catch a Lyft ride home. Another more compassionate nurse came with a wheelchair and assisted me in getting to the front door. Bottom line this is a malpractice prone hospital headed for more lawsuits.... Just read the other negative Google reviews. Their PR driven phoney happy talk replies to legitimate serious Google review complaints are a joke, signed "your friends at Scripps Mercy"?... give me a break...first of all ....to rhe unprofessional people .....you are not our friends if you put our lives and safety at risk because of callous, inconsiderate ineptitude and malpractice. There is no excuse for medical errors and failurea, disrespect, rudeness, lack of compassion, consideration and sensitivity, and poor performance in any hospital, especially one belonging to the Sisters of Mercy. Scripps Mercy has become the poster boy for the broken US medical system and the sad state of terrible inner city urban...

It's 1 AM and I just left their ER. I had ingested some chemicals that I was told could do serious harm to my nervous system and brain if digested. I needed to get them out of my system immediately. I attempted to self induce vomiting numerous times unsuccessfully. You can imagine how enjoyable that process was. By the time I gave up, I knew I had to head to the Emergency Room. And fast.

I called ahead to speak to a nurse, tell her the situation, and find out if my information was correct. That I really was at risk. And whether I should even bother coming in. Instead I got a sarcastic gentleman who ignored my urgency, and simply told me: "Sorry. I don't give medical information over the phone".

Drove to the ER at 90mph so I could get help to induce vomiting before I digested what I'd taken. My face was bright red, sweating, and clearly in distress when I walked in the ER. I was seriously scared.

I presented my concern and urgency to the front desk staff who barely looked back at me in complete disinterest. The total lack of concern, interest, the unprofessionalism, and the outright disregard for my situation was obvious in the first 5 seconds. I told them I had minutes to respond to this possible poisoning, and needed to induce vomiting. They told me to sign in and go sit down. "There are 3 people ahead of you". WHAT? At this point I was scrambling just to find a bathroom so I could make myself throw up. I asked for a nurse to speak to. He told me to go sit down again.

I told him I needed to induce vomiting quickly because I just ingested something that could be poisonous. Mr. Black spikey hair diva copped an attitude and started lecturing me with a raised voice and feminine mannerisms. That they have a "process" and I would have to wait. In fact, here, fill out this paperwork first. And go stand on the scale so we can get your .... weight. Are you Fkng kidding me?

I'd asked for a nurse 6 times by this point and was told none were available. I asked for the liquid that induces vomiting. Said I'd just go in the bathroom and take care of it myself. He refused. And everyone else was just looking at me like some meth head psycho.

It was at this point I got really upset. These people were being presented with a possible poisoning, where every second matters, and they were doing nothing. They couldn't be bothered. When somebody walks in your f** emergency room with a poisoning situation .....you don't cop an attitude, speak sarcastically to them, and tell them to go sit down. Unprofessional, disrespectful, rude idiots.

So I lost it. I thought my opportunity for getting this poison out of my system was quickly slipping away. I turned to Mister Spikey Hair Diva and said extremely loud: "LOOK THE ATTITUDE IS NOT APPROPRIATE. SECONDLY, YOU ARE ACTING INCREDIBLY UNPROFESSIONAL. I NEED TO BE SEEN RIGHT NOW." All this did was serve to "annoy" him even more. Instead of calling a Nurse to help me, he actually got on the phone and called security.

A nurse (who barely spoke English) finally came out and asked me what I took. I asked her if we could go in a room to discuss the matter. She said "No". Privacy be damned. When I told her what it was - a very common chemical that even the dumbest medical professional should've heard about, she had no clue. In fact, 4 times she asked me to spell it for her, while she was crinkling her nose in confusion, trying to write. If you haven't heard of this chemical before, and you don't even know how to spell it, you don't belong anywhere near a hospital.

I was now pushing 20 minutes after ingestion, and realizing I wasn't going to get any help. Any more time spent here getting patronizing remarks from the staff could mean major damage to my health. So I threw my hands up, said "UNBELIEVABLE" and turned to leave. The other dude-diva behind the counter (a blonde one) responded with a loud, and sarcastic "Bbbbbbyyyyyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!"

Holy cow. Are. You. Kidding me.

Your ER is an embarrassment to medical care...