An Atlanta man who said he came down with a fever complains he never got to see a doctor at Grady Hospital. Kevin Baxter says he waited more than 12 hours before he eventually climbed off of a hospital gurney and walked out the emergency room door.
"I was hot. I was nauseous," said Baxter. "After they did their initial procedure, they told me to have a seat and I would be seen. I sat in the emergency room from approximately 10:30 [a.m.] until 7 that evening and I was getting sicker. At 7 o'clock, I was told, when I went into the back that I would be seen shortly. And it never happened. "
Baxter said his blood pressure and temperature were checked and blood was drawn after he reported flu-like symptoms.
He said that he gave up around midnight, got off the gurney and walked out of the hospital.
"The last train was going to stop shortly after midnight. I didn't want to miss the last train and end up having to be at Grady all night," Baxter said.
A Grady Memorial Hospital spokesperson acknowledged that the emergency room has become increasingly overcrowded with visits in 2012 up over 2011 by 17 percent.
"If this is the norm at Grady, well this is a problem. If it was an abnormality, OK, that happens, but we need to address. And I want to make it clear, it's not that I don't want to pay," Baxter said.
Baxter said he is negotiating with Grady over the $479.50 bill he received.
Grady authorities told FOX 5's Morse Diggs that they believe Baxter waited around 7 or 8 hours. They believe he may have dozed off and missed being called earlier in the evening.
Hospital officials said they are reviewing ways to overhaul the emergency room system due to long wait times.
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