Saskatchewan NDP leader Carla Beck met with the son of an elderly patient who recently spent five days in a hospital bed in a busy hallway in the ER because there were no available rooms.

Mark Shyluk’s 88-year-old father, who is the early stages of Alzheimer’s, sustained an injury and was taken to hospital. Shyluk says his father was in the middle of the chaos—constant movement of people, medical equipment, stretchers and visiting family members. Washroom access was a challenge for some of the patients in the hall and there was no call button to access staff.

“When I arrived to see him, it broke my heart,” said Shyluk.

Beck says hallway care now appears to be a regular occurrence at both St. Paul’s Hospital and Royal University Hospital. Frontline healthcare workers have raised concerns about overcrowding and the strain it is place on both staff and patient care.

(photo supplied)