WATCH ABOVE: A local woman is speaking out after enduring a heartbreaking loss. While suffering a miscarriage, she had to wait seven hours in a hospital waiting room. Jessica Kent has her story.
EDMONTON — A Bruderheim woman is speaking out about hospital wait times, after she sat in a hospital waiting room for seven hours while she miscarried her child.
Ashley Moisan, who was about 10 weeks pregnant with her first child, just finished eating dinner at home on Wednesday, March 4 when she knew something was wrong. It was about 7 p.m. when Moisan and her husband, Scott Moisan, arrived at the Fort Saskatchewan Community Hospital.
After speaking with the nurses at the triage unit, Moisan said she was told it would be about a two hour wait and to have a seat in the waiting room.
After waiting nearly two hours, Scott went back up to the desk to ask how much longer it would be before they could see a doctor.
“They said two hours. At that point it was two hours,” Ashley said Saturday.
“They kept saying, ‘You’re next. You’re next, you’re next, you’re next,'” she said. “The only thing I got was a glass of water. Other than that, nobody came and saw me.”
The Moisans say by the time they got in to see a doctor it was 2 a.m.
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“We were originally told two hours and it ended up turning into seven. And for us to be told, ‘You’re next, you’re next, you’re next – 15, 20 minutes you’ll be in’ and then having to sit there for another three hours, I find that a little bit ridiculous,” said Ashley.
Ashley and Scott say they understand it was a busy night at the hospital, but they wish they had been offered a more private place to wait.
“Seeing my wife like that, in pain, is really heartbreaking,” said Scott. “I know there are a lot of other cases that need to go through, but just to have the option of just being in a hallway or on a stretcher – just to be with the ones you love that know what’s going on, instead of being in a waiting room full of strangers – I really think there should be a better option.”
“I work at a local store where I see the people that were in the waiting room on a daily basis. I didn’t feel comfortable having them watch me go through something so personal and traumatic,” said Ashley.
“I just wanted to be somewhere more private … even if they put me in a hallway.”
In a statement to Global News, Alberta Health Services said emergency room wait times fluctuate, and the median wait time from triage to seeing a doctor at the Fort Saskatchewan Community Hospital this year is 1.4 hours.
“On the evening in question, the Fort Saskatchewan hospital was particularly busy. Three critical medical emergencies presented at the site, requiring urgent medical attention. However, our objective is to is to ensure that all of our patients are treated with compassion and dignity,” the statement reads.
“We apologize that the patient and her husband were not given a more private area while they waited for treatment. We are working closely with the family and will continue to be in direct contact with them, to discuss any concerns they may have.”
The Moisans say the past couple of weeks have been tough, but they’re speaking out in hopes that no one else will have to go through a similar situation.
“I hope no family has to go through this. I do hope that Alberta Health Services takes a little bit more action from this,” said Scott. “Let’s try to have some more compassion.”
“For the next woman that goes in in this situation, ask them if they want some privacy,” added Ashley.
Ashley’s mother wrote a letter to her MLA Jacquie Fenske. She is still waiting for a reply.
With files from Jessica Kent, Global News.
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