'It's unsafe': Patient voices concern for Saskatoon emergency rooms

Sask. woman says health care system in trouble WATCH: A Sask. woman wants to see more support for the health care system after witnessing a horrific scene in the emergency room last week.

A Saskatoon woman said she called 911 and reported herself as a fire hazard, after witnessing extreme overcrowding at the St. Paul’s emergency room last week.

Shaylyn Cowper described the chaotic scene when she was admitted to the emergency room for severe abdominal pain last Monday.

“We were all packed in like sardines. It’s unsafe for patients, it’s unsafe for staff,” Cowper told CTV News on Wednesday.

She said she was there the same day nurses called to ‘stop the line,’ sounding the alarm about overcapacity and safety concerns.

“After I was triaged, I ended up in the waiting room for over seven hours with no care, I never spoke to a doctor,” she said.

Cowper said her ER bed was placed in the waiting room and it partially blocked the main entrance. She said she called 911 multiple times, asking for a fire marshal to investigate.

The Saskatchewan Health Authority told CTV News it wouldn’t comment on this situation further, and referred to previous comments.

“Our goal is obviously looking at targeted measures to ensure that we're building not only hospital capacity, but community capacity,” SHA vice-president for integrated Saskatoon health John Ash told CTV News last week.

Tracy Zambory, president of the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses, said it’s not just about capacity. She said an ineffective mental health and addictions strategy and a lack of family doctors has lead to more people ending up in emergency rooms.

“We have people who don’t have doctors because of the shortages, so that means they’re coming into the emergency rooms because they don’t have a primary care provider,” she said.

Cowper agrees more resources are needed.

“It’s definitely a huge issue and needs a lot of work, but it’s up to our government to make those improvements,” she said.

CTV News reached out to the Ministry of Health but did not receive a response by publishing time.