A retired Saskatoon nurse said she left the Royal University Hospital (RUH) in shock last week after witnessing the conditions inside the facility.
“It was incredulous, what I was seeing,” said Tami Fehr. “There were stretchers in every hallway, numerous paramedics caring for their patients in the hallway, every corner I turned there were patients on stretchers in every little cubby.”
Fehr visited RUH last week to help a family member through a medical emergency.
She said her family member was lucky enough to be sent an available ambulance and that she has no critiques about the care her family member was given, but said the conditions inside the walls of the hospital were appalling.
She said the hallways were packed with patients and tucked into storage rooms, on recliners and stretchers without access to call bells and oxygen hookups.
Her family member was placed on a bed in the hallway before being admitted to “a hole” of a room. While in the hallway, the patient had to undergo an ECG, which involves the exposure of the chest, a procedure that should have been performed privately.
“When I did try to get help for my family member, there was no one at the nurses’ pod because they were busy helping other patients. Every shift they work is like this. Who could possibly recruit or keep staff in this working environment?”
She noted that Saskatoon hospitals serve not only the city, but the northern half of the province.
“Would Scott Moe or Andrew Will want their pants changed in the hallway? Not likely, but that is the reality now.”
Saskatoon Fire Department inspected St. Paul’s Hospital this week after a complaint highlighted overcrowded hallways that were violating fire code requirements. No penalties or fines were issued.
Now, the fire department is inspecting RUH after the same complaint was made against the hospital, according to assistant Chief Yvonne Raymer.
Fehr worked 35 years an as RN in the Saskatoon region and said that during her employment, head nurses and managers weren’t afraid to speak up for their ward.
“Now if they speak up, they are moved or given five wards to manage, or given wards to manage at different sites,” Fehr claimed. “‘Rock the boat’ and you are downgraded in your evaluation and your bonus is affected.”
She said that she learned of a policy that means nurses are not allowed to approach the media with their concerns. According to the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses, the policy is true.
“I tried to give them an outlet, left contacts to the media, and guaranteed anonymity,” Fehr said. “The staff are afraid of reprimand and of losing their jobs.”
The letter she left the nurses in the hospital containing media contacts had been taken down.
“They are muzzled,” Fehr said.
Saskatchewan Union of Nurses president Tracy Zambory said the current state of nursing is nothing short of a disaster.
“We are hanging on by our fingernails in this province.”
She said the province is facing its worst nursing shortage since 2008 and the hospital conditions are worse than they were during the pandemic.
A survey conducted by the union showed that almost 90 per cent of the time, nurses feel as though it is impossible to give safe care due to the environment they are subjected to. It also showed 81 per cent of members reported times where patients were put at risk as a result of short staffing.
“This is the truth from the front line,” Zambory said. “The healthcare system itself is in freefall and getting worse every day.”
She said that St. Paul’s hospital administration has reported being 100 to 200 per cent over capacity, 100 per cent of the time.
Zambory said the provincial government’s plans have, so far, been an utter failure.
“We have recruited 79 nurses from the Philippines. We are 1,000 full-time equivalents short. 79 registered nurses is not going to make one bit of difference.”
She claimed most of the new nurses will be implemented without mentors and placed into facilities without other registered nurses.
“We are so glad that they want to make Saskatchewan their home, but we have no measures that are going to keep them and make them feel like they are safe.”
Fehr said she has repeatedly sent emails to the Saskatchewan Health Authority’s chief executive officer Andrew Will, Health Minister Everett Hindley and Health Critic Vicki Mowat, outlining her concerns around hospital conditions and nursing shortages.
“The CEO of the health region should be mandated to make an appearance,” read Fehr’s letter to the province. “They need to actually see the extremely and incredible work these front-line staff are doing. Get out of your cushy office.”
At the Legislature on Thursday, Hindley said the government is investigating the situation so patients don’t have to be treated in hallways.
“It’s not acceptable and not something that we want to have happen and it just indicates that we don’t have enough room for the patients coming in.”
He noted that hospitals are in the midst of seasonal pressures that are driving up bed usage.
“There has been work done previously and investments made to increase the number of complex and acute care beds in some of our hospitals in Saskatoon and Regina as well and providing additional staff. We need to continue these investments.”
Hindley said the government is working on creating a “broader health care team” and expanding virtual and regional care centres so patients don’t congregate in big facilities. He added his team is also looking to expand the scope of care for pharmacists, paramedics and nurses so people have more options as to where they receive treatment.
Fehr has asked the province for three fully functioning buildings within Saskatoon with full-scale emergency rooms and acute care centres in each.
“There is a large percentage of city hospital, I know, that is appointment based. There are floors where it is not acute care. Use the space you have.”
She said her family member has been traumatized by her experience at RUH.
“Where is the dignity when your chest is exposed for an ECG, or your pants are changed in a hallway? I used to be proud to be a nurse and work in the health authority, but this is horrendous.”
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