After enduring six days on a hospital stretcher, Jaymee Miller expressed her desire to never return to the Western Memorial Regional Hospital in Corner Brook.
“It was humiliating,” stated Miller, who was hospitalized last month due to diverticulitis, a condition that causes severe abdominal discomfort.
“It was simply a dreadful experience.”
Her time on the stretcher was spent in a cramped, windowless room. She reported having very little sleep. To reach the restroom, Miller had to navigate outside the hospital pod while managing her IV stand.
“I was in tremendous pain,” she recounted. “[At] times, I feared I might faint and thought, ‘Well, no one will know I’m here.’”
She was unable to take a shower and mentioned that it was only on her fifth day of hospitalization that she was offered one after repeated requests.
By the sixth day, Miller was so drained and in such agony that she broke down in tears, at which point she was finally given a hospital bed, where she stayed for three days.
“Thinking about it still upsets me. It just wasn’t right,” she said.
‘No privacy at all’
Leanne Renouf shared a similar ordeal, having spent three days on a stretcher at the same facility.
Renouf explained that she was relocated from the room where she spent her first night.
“Basically, I was put in a small nook in the hallway where towels and blankets are stored, and I was placed on a stretcher there,” she noted. “People were constantly coming and going for towels. I had zero privacy.”
Later that evening, she was transferred to “overflow.”
“I assumed I would be getting a bed. Instead, I found myself once again on a stretcher, in what resembled a tiny closet,” she said.
Sleep was elusive, as the room was equipped with automatic lights that activated with any movement.
Jaymee Miller mentioned she spent six days on a stretcher in a small room without windows at the Corner Brook hospital. Leanne Renouf noted she spent a day on a stretcher in an area of the hallway designated for towel storage. (Submitted by Jaymee Miller and Leanne Renouf)
She added that she was never offered a shower.
“I was utterly worn out,” she said. “I resorted to using a bowl of water to try and … clean myself.”
Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services has previously acknowledged the overflow situation at the Corner Brook hospital.
The facility initially opened with 164 beds in June 2024, and an additional 30 long-term care beds along with 15 transitional care beds were added last fall to address the overflow challenges.
In a statement to CBC News, NLHS spokesperson Jeanette O’Keefe acknowledged that “being treated outside of a conventional room can be distressing.”
O’Keefe emphasized that NLHS strives to reduce such occurrences as much as feasible, although sometimes healthcare facilities face increased patient numbers, particularly during flu season.
Two women report spending days on stretchers after being admitted to the Western Memorial Regional Hospital in Corner Brook. An emergency room doctor highlights that patient overflow is a result of systemic failures.
“Consequently, designated overflow areas are utilized to safely care for patients when the standard hospital beds are occupied,” she stated.
O’Keefe indicated that patient assessments are conducted to ensure that overflow areas can adequately meet their care requirements.
“If those needs change, an alternative bed is allocated,” she added.
‘Hallway medicine’
Dr. Scott Wilson, an emergency room physician from St. John’s and a member of the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians, expressed that placing patients on stretchers in overflow areas can compromise care and should be avoided.
“We refer to it as hallway medicine,” he explained.
“[There’s] no space, no restroom, no privacy, constant lighting, and no distinction between night and day for your circadian rhythm.”
Dr. Scott Wilson remarked that placing patients in overflow on stretchers is indicative of ‘system failure.’ (Mark Quinn/CBC)
The nurses’ union in the province raised concerns about patient overflow back in December when at least 50 nurses were mandated to work overtime.
Yvette Coffey, president of the Registered Nurses’ Union of Newfoundland and Labrador, stated that the overflow of patients into physiotherapy rooms, closet areas, and hallways raised significant worries about working conditions.
In a statement to CBC News, Coffey reiterated her concerns regarding reports of overcrowding.
“No individual should spend days on a stretcher lacking privacy or proper access to essential needs such as a restroom or shower,” she emphasized. “That impacts a person’s dignity and overall wellness.”
‘System failure’
Wilson attributed the issue to “system failure.”
He explained that patients are compelled to remain on emergency room stretchers because acute care beds are occupied by individuals who cannot be discharged due to inadequate community support or long-term care options.
This situation heightens the risk for patients.
“The longer you remain in an emergency room as an inpatient, the higher the chances are that you’ll encounter additional complications,” he remarked.
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