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An Opposition MLA says her mother, who has Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, waited over 100 hours in a Saskatoon hospital’s hallways before getting a room.
Joan Pratchler said her mother, who is 89, had a stroke and first arrived in the Royal University Hospital’s emergency department early Sunday morning.
In a news conference outside the hospital, Pratchler told reporters her mother finally got a room early Thursday morning.
Pratchler said her mom was moved from one place in the emergency department to another over the course of five days.
She said there were many other patients in the same situation.
All treatments rooms were full and beds were up against nursing stations and hallway walls, she said, adding that the last hallway her mother was in was as long as a city block, with beds lined up end to end, each with a night table, a garbage can and a little plastic chair for family to sit in.
“And so I sat with her and tried to tell her over and over when she asked, where she was, why she was here,” Pratchler said.
Cries and whimpers
Pratchler, who is also a registered nurse, said on one morning, 11 people had strokes and were rushed to the hospital.
She said she heard many seniors in the hallways.
“They were crying and the families were whimpering,” Pratchler said. “They want to know where they are, when they’re going to get help. And that is just heartbreaking.”
Pratchler said the health-care system the seniors wanted to build years ago so it would be there when they needed it is breaking.
“When you see those tears rolling down their cheeks, and when you see the family standing up, turning around, you know they’re crying because that’s not the way it’s supposed to be,” she said.
Pratchler said during her time in the hallways with her mother, she would see the looks on the faces of doctors, nurses and security guards, or hear from them directly, that this is not how it should be. The moral distress is hard on everyone, she said.
“Hopefully something good will come out of this because you shouldn’t have to wait five days.”
Pratchler said she urges people to pray for those who are caring for these patients.
“And let’s pray for the people who can and should be able to fix this.”
Government has acknowledged challenges
In November, CBC reported about a 74-year-old cancer patient who said he spent six days in a hospital bed in a chaotic emergency department hallway at RUH after going to the ER with a severe ear infection.
“Some of the stories, quite frankly, are just not acceptable,” Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill told reporters at the time. “We know there are challenges in the health-care system.”
Cockrill and Premier Scott Moe jointly announced the Saskatchewan government’s new Patients First Health Care Plan on Monday.
It includes a promise to build more urgent care centres in Saskatoon, Regina, Prince Albert, Moose Jaw and North Battleford to lessen the strain on hospitals.
Cockrill announced 36 new acute care beds will open at Royal University Hospital later this year.
In a statement on Thursday, in response to a CBC interview request, the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) said Saskatoon hospitals have been experiencing higher than average capacity levels in recent days.
The SHA “acknowledges that capacity pressures create a difficult environment for patients,” staff and paramedics in emergency departments, the statement said.
The health authority said it “continues to take immediate action to address these capacity pressures, by expanding acute care capacity and improving flow through Saskatoon hospitals. This includes SHA leaders connecting daily with teams, including emergency department staff and physicians and enhancing emergency departments for patients accessing care.”
The SHA said this is in addition to efforts underway to add acute care capacity in Saskatoon, including the expansion of 109 acute care inpatient beds at Saskatoon City Hospital and the additional 24 acute care and four ICU beds at St. Paul’s Hospital announced in the Patients First plan.