Sask. mayor speaks out about nine-hour ordeal
A Saskatchewan mayor says he spent nine hours in a Saskatoon emergency room without being given a name tag or screened for COVID-19.
Les Alm, the mayor of Allan and a former member of multiple regional health boards, said he's sharing his experience publicly because the Saskatchewan Health Authority hasn't given him clear answers about why it happened. “I think this is extremely serious. I'm not out to get anyone. I just don't want anyone else to have this experience,” Alm said.
Alm, who served on the boards of the Saskatoon Health District and Saskatoon Regional Health Authority, said his ordeal began on Oct. 8 when paramedics brought him to the Royal University Hospital emergency room after he felt extremely nauseous and dizzy.
After arriving, staff did not give him a wrist band with his name, even though they gave him medications and signed him up for a CT scan, he said.
He expected a series of questions about COVID-19, but wasn't asked about his activity or if he had any symptoms, he added.
Doctors who did see him provided excellent care, but even they seemed surprised he was not given much water, even though he was vomiting and dehydrated, Alm said.
He left the ER around 1 a.m. the next morning to join his wife, who was waiting in the parking lot. “Right at the front door, I christened the emergency exit by vomiting,” he said.
His wife stepped in to help clean up. “So she couldn't come in and advocate for me for the eight hours I was in the ER, but she was allowed to clean up my vomit. I wasn't happy about that.”
The SHA cannot comment on specific cases, but spokeswoman Amanda Purcell said it has a process for screening visitors for COVID-19 before registration. SHA guidelines say patients who know they are coming can be screened ahead of time over the phone. Screening can include taking a patient's temperature as well as hand hygiene. Masking became mandatory in SHA and affiliate facilities in Saskatoon earlier this month due to rising COVID-19 transmission.
Purcell said some patients wait a long time in the ER due to multiple factors, like the number of people being discharged at a given time or the severity of the patient's condition.
A review requested by the Ministry of Health last year found “significant capacity issues” at emergency rooms in Regina and Saskatoon. It found this was due to rising demand, including people with mental health and addictions challenges, plus an influx of patients from outside those cities.
The review called for “continued investments from the province to keep pace with growth and address gaps as they are identified.”
Alm said he is doing better after another doctor identified the source of his symptoms. He doesn't want to get anyone in trouble, but he hasn't been able to reach hospital staff through internal channels such as the quality of care co-ordinator. His intent is to prevent it from happening again, he said.