Home / Health / Saskatoon ER Halls: A 5-Day Wait for Mom
Saskatoon ER Halls: A 5-Day Wait for Mom
13 Mar
Summary
- An 89-year-old with dementia waited over 100 hours for a room.
- Patients were housed in hallways described as a city block long.
- Government promises new urgent care centers and hospital beds.
An opposition MLA revealed her 89-year-old mother, who has Alzheimer's disease and dementia, waited over 100 hours in the Royal University Hospital's emergency department hallways in Saskatoon before being admitted to a room. The patient arrived early Sunday morning and finally received a room early Thursday morning.
During the five-day wait, the mother was moved multiple times within the emergency department. The MLA described the hallways as packed with patients, with beds lining walls and stretching as long as a city block. She reported witnessing distressing scenes of crying seniors and their families seeking answers about their care.
In response to ongoing capacity pressures, the Saskatchewan government announced its Patients First Health Care Plan. This plan includes commitments to build new urgent care centers in five cities and to open 36 new acute care beds at Royal University Hospital later this year. The Saskatchewan Health Authority acknowledged the difficult environment caused by capacity pressures and stated they are taking immediate actions to increase capacity and improve patient flow.
This situation echoes a previous report in November about a cancer patient who spent six days in an emergency department hallway at the same hospital. Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill acknowledged challenges within the healthcare system, emphasizing the need for the new initiatives to alleviate strain on hospitals.
