Health Link 811 getting mixed reviews

ATHABASCA - It’s a refrain we’ve been hearing since the coronavirus pandemic took hold in Alberta – contact Health Link at 811 before visiting a physician, hospital or other healthcare facility.

The phone line has since been inundated with thousands of calls, sometimes daily, and for some, it has worked very well. Their concerns were addressed in a timely manner and they took the advice they received to heart, others have not been as impressed.

Jennifer Gerun said the wait times were decent when she called, “although the nurse was clearly overwhelmed and flustered when she answered.”

“She said that she was a retired nurse called in to help, but so many extra people called in that they were pretty much sitting on top of each other and it was hard for them to hear or work,” said Gerun. “The computer was excessively slow as it was being overloaded, but I got my answer. She was very helpful and polite despite the trying times.”

Ligeuna Gitzel didn’t have a problem getting through and was thoroughly satisfied with the experience.

“I used 811 a few days ago,” she said. “Someone answered almost immediately and I was done in about five minutes. She was super-friendly, actually sounded like she cared, and made sure I was clear on instruction before we hung up.”

Chelsy Teske works at the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton, and coronavirus screening processes are well-enforced. Last Tuesday, she woke up with a cold and knew she wouldn’t be allowed in the building at work, so she called 811 for advice.

“I was on hold for a bit, but it wasn’t a big deal at all and she asked me questions and then told me since I had symptoms, I’d need to get swabbed and when she found out I lived in Westlock, but work in the city, she said she’d try to find a location close to me,” said Teske.

On Wednesday, she received a call to set up a swab test that day.

“All I had to do was drive and park in a designated spot at the health unit and they come up to your vehicle and swab your nose while your parked and that’s it,” she said.

Teske is now in isolation with her son until April 17.

Priscilla Cardinal has not had such a great experience with Health Link. She is currently completing her second 14-day isolation period, after four separate calls to the hotline that had her waiting for hours.

“The last call I made, the fourth call, she was awesome, I finally felt better after talking to somebody,” she said.

Previous to that though, she waited for more than two hours the first time she tried to get through. She suffers from asthma and diabetes, she was having trouble breathing, and was generally feeling under the weather that day.

“I was scared. I can handle a flu, I can handle a cold. I’m an asthmatic, I’m a diabetic. I don’t go to the hospital unless I’m really, really sick. I was breathless and I couldn’t catch my breath and you could hear it … I just feel that nobody listens to you unless you’re ready to die,” said Cardinal.

The second time she called, this time with a high fever, chills and more laboured breathing, she waited another hour-and-a-half to get through only to be told it was probably the flu.

“The first three times I called, they didn’t even take my info, they just bluntly pushed me aside and told me I was in the north so I was safe.”

The last time she called, all went smoothly. She told the nurse her symptoms and was advised to see a doctor. Her oxygen levels were tested and she had a chest x-ray done and was further advised to isolate herself for another 14 days, but she’s happy to do it, feeling she has now been heard.

“I’m not coughing anymore, my fevers are gone, but I still feel that itch in my throat so I’m just hoping we’re through this,” said Cardinal.

Chris Zwick, TownandCountryToday.com

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