Saskatoon hospital ERs 'bursting at the seams': Opposition
NDP says patients treated in waiting room and public hallways
Saskatchewan's Opposition NDP says patients at two Saskatoon hospital emergency departments were treated "without privacy or dignity" on Wednesday because the ERs were "bursting at the seams."
The NDP said that, as of Wednesday afternoon, 93 patients were in the Royal University Hospital's emergency room designed for half of that, with stretchers lining public hallways.
At St. Paul's Hospital, it said there were 53 patients in an emergency room designed for 28, forcing patients to be treated in the waiting room.
At a news conference Thursday in Saskatoon, Opposition health critic Vicki Mowat called on the government to immediately develop and publicly release an emergency plan to address overcrowding at RUH and St. Paul's.
Mowat also called on the government to "staff up" hospitals province-wide.
Mowat said hospitals are consistently over-capacity, but that it got to a level on Wednesday that led to her hearing from nurses from both hospitals within an hour of each other.
"When it gets to this point, when they're at a breaking point and they have no other option, they feel like the only thing they can do is plead to the public to put pressure on the government to make a change," she said.
Linda Wood has an elderly family member receiving care in St. Paul's. Wood said her relative spent most of four days in the hallway "in the smallest gurneys that they use for transport" before she was given a room late Wednesday night.
Wood said the hallways were packed, including with family members of patients who were in pain or suffering — and staff were run off their feet.
"[Wednesday] morning, I was shocked to see that they began to pull out all the waiting room chairs. And they quickly set up a hospital emergency ward in that waiting room," she said.
"It was kind of like being in a war zone and watching a unit just literally be created out of thin air."
Wood said people had to find new ways into the ER and that more than one staff member said, "Please tell people what's happening."
Wood said she has seen emergency capacity issues in Saskatoon hospitals before, but "this was a whole new thing for me."
"People are trying to be gracious and courteous and not listen, but when medical staff come to speak about the most intimate things in your situation and your health care, everyone is privy to that information," she said.
Officials with the Ministry of Health were not immediately made available for comment.
The latest provincial budget included $30 million to enact the provincial government's plan to increase the number of acute care beds at Saskatoon City Hospital by more than 100. The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) said those beds will be opened in the coming year.
The government has also committed to opening urgent care centres — meant to divert pressure from emergency rooms — in Moose Jaw, Prince Albert and North Battleford. Secondary urgent care centres are also planned for Saskatoon and Regina.
In a statement to CBC News, the SHA said it is committed to providing quality care, but acknowledged increased demand on the emergency departments, exceeding average volumes.
The health authority said it "appreciates the patience and understanding of members of the public as our staff and physicians work diligently to improve patient flow and work through the system pressures we are currently experiencing."
With files from Radio-Canada, Dan Zakreski and Halyna Mihalik