Man with broken neck gets sick of waiting, leaves hospital: Cory Urlich says he begged for a bed

A severely injured man says he got so fed up sitting in the Waikato Hospital emergency department waiting to be seen he went home, only to learn days later he had broken his neck.

Waikato man Cory Urlich told the Herald he knew something was very wrong with his neck – he could tell by the pain – but says the hospital made him sit with others desperate for care who themselves had been waiting for hours.

“I was begging them for a bed. I was begging.”

Urlich was offered painkillers but says he was not put in a neck brace. He said it took three hours before he was taken for an X-ray. When he was given one, it was of his back rather than his neck. He says he waited for another two hours and then gave up and went home.

The 26-year-old said it was lucky he knew how to look after himself by remaining calm and still.

Cory Urlich broke his neck and went to Waikato Hospital, but left after waiting for about five hours. Photo / supplied

Urlich was stretching against a tree branch when he slipped and fell last Sunday.

“At the moment I hit the ground I was already in a state of shock from not knowing what my future was going to look like. I thought I was going to be paralysed.

“I was lying on the ground calling for help for a few minutes but no one was coming.

“I had to see if I could stand up. I was very weak and my hand was practically unusable. I managed to very carefully stand myself up.”

Urlich said he was holding his head up as he walked away seeking help.

“I managed to waddle through the park and tried to call out to someone. They interrogated me for a minute and then walked away because he didn’t seem to care.”

A passing motorist then picked him up and took him home. He briefly laid down and had his father call an ambulance. Paramedics assessed him and decided Urlich should have an X-ray at the hospital.

Urlich asked for a bed when he got to Waikato Hospital: “I was exhausted and fatigued and I knew that I needed to lie down to save my neck. They kept offering me drugs and said that they would arrange a bed for me, but they never did.”

Cory Urlich broke his neck and left after waiting for about five hours in Waikato Hospital's emergency department. Photo / supplied

After waiting about three hours, he was taken for an X-ray of his thoracic spine, the lower back.

“That wasn’t what I was needing. I needed an X-ray on my cervical spine [the neck] but they hadn’t arranged for that to be done.

“[I] got the X-ray and had to come back out and waited in the waiting room even longer.”

Urlich sat waiting in “horrendous” pain.

“The pain was through my joints and everything. It felt like what I’d imagine really severe arthritis is like. I couldn’t touch anything. It was like knives in my hand.

“I was gritting my teeth through it. But I couldn’t stay quiet, there was a lot of pain, a lot of grouching, a lot of swearing. I’d also be sensing a lot of pressure on my spinal cord and that’s not easy to really describe.

“I was aware of the fact that they had a lot of emergencies and they said they were very busy ... but otherwise I just felt like I was being ignored.”

“It just got to the point where I’ve had such a big panic attack and so much fatigue and exhaustion and pain that I gave up.

“I gave up on waiting and told them I had to go home so I could relax. I just couldn’t tolerate the thought of having to wait around any longer. It was really that bad.”

Urlich then paid to go to a private radiologist on the Tuesday and had an X-ray completed that confirmed he had broken his neck. He was then told to return to hospital, after which he received the care he believed he should have had when he went in two days earlier.

Cory Urlich paid for a private radiologist to take an X-ray of his neck. Photo / supplied

It was confirmed he had a comminuted fracture on his middle vertebrae.

He was mobile when he spoke to the Herald and was thankful his injuries were not any worse. He said he had a lot of support from his family.

But Urlich looked back on the care he received and said it was not good enough.

“It’s shocking, absolutely shocking. They [healthcare professionals] are supposed to be trained to know how to deal with neck injuries and spinal problems. I made it very clear that there was some concern and it just wasn’t really taken that seriously.”

Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora Hauora a Toi Bay of Plenty group director of operations Pauline McGrath acknowledged the frustration for patients who have to wait.

“It’s our aim to reduce wait times,” McGrath said.

“But when a patient decides to leave any of our EDs they can do so.

“We would encourage people to speak with our staff before they decide to leave. If they do leave we will attempt to follow up with them to ensure they are safe and have received the help they need.”

Raphael Franks is an Auckland-based reporter who covers breaking news. He joined the Herald as a Te Rito cadet in 2022.

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