Man waited 17 hours for wrong flu diagnosis

A Montreal man who rushed to a West Island emergency room with breathing problems may take legal action against the hospital after he waited 17 hoursand thenreceived an incorrect diagnosis.

Patrick Brodie, a Pointe-Claire resident, said he had to wait 12 hours to see a doctor at the Lakeshore General Hospital, where he went Monday night on the advice of a physician at a local flu clinic, who thought his laboured breathing was a sign of the swine flu.

Brodie said his eventual ER examination was unpleasant and that a nurse lost her temper while taking blood tests from him.

"She said she had to give me a needle, that I didn't really want," Brodie told CBC News. "I said, 'Give me a sec to get ready.' She lost her patience, said she didn't have the patience for this, stormed out of the room, and started ridiculing me to the other nurses in French, thinking that I don't speak French."

Five hours later, Brodie was told he didn't have the flu, and was sent home. On Tuesday, a doctor at the Lakeshore called back with his blood test results, and told Brodie there had been a mistake in his diagnosis, and it is very likely he was infected with the H1N1 flu virus.

The Lakeshore Hospital doesn't deny Brodie's version of events, and a spokesman said management would address the staff involved.

"Every time something like that is brought to our attention, we immediately have a discussion with the people that were on duty, and we correct the situation," said hospital spokesman Louis-Pascal Cyr.