Around 12 noon today, a couple rushed into Medicine Casualty holding their 3-year-old. The child had fallen off a table; his wrist was visibly deformed, likely a clean break. He was crying inconsolably, surrounded by 4 or 5 frantic relatives.
"Doctor, treat my child fast!" they shouted.
I immediately assessed the situation. As a Medicine resident, I am neither an orthopedician nor a pediatrician. I knew that I was not in a position to manage this situation.
I calmly told them: "This is Medicine Casualty. Please turn left, the Orthopedic Casualty is right there. Since you have many people with you, have one person take the child there immediately while another goes to the counter for a ticket so the doctors can order X-rays and meds."
That’s when the shouting started.
"You good-for-nothing doctors! Can’t you see this is an emergency? Why do we need a ticket?"
My junior rushed over to help, only to be met with threats: "Treat him immediately or things will get bad for you." Then, the phones came out. Cameras were shoved in our faces. "Look at these doctors refusing to treat a child!"
Here is the context a 30-second viral video would miss:
1. I was directing them to the correct specialist only 3 minutes away.
2. Without a hospital ID/ticket, the Ortho team can't even log an X-ray request into the system.
3. Staying in Medicine Casualty was actually delaying the child's care.
To de-escalate, I eventually had to leave my own post unattended to personally escort them to the Ortho wing and explain the situation to the doctors there.
Hours later, after the child was stabilized, the family returned to apologize. I appreciate the apology, but the damage of those "recorded" moments lingers. This is the daily reality for doctors: being vilified for following the very protocols that ensure a patient gets the right treatment from the right specialist.
Before you share a "doctor refusing treatment" video, ask yourself: Are they refusing, or are they trying to get the patient to the help they actually need?