Home World News Canada news ‘What century is this?’ Man in pain, scared and waiting 4 days in Ontario hospital hallway to fix broken leg
Canada news

‘What century is this?’ Man in pain, scared and waiting 4 days in Ontario hospital hallway to fix broken leg

Share
what century is this man in pain scared and waiting 4 days in ontario hospital hallway to fix broken leg
Share

A 76-year-old man with a shattered leg bone has been languishing on a stretcher in the hallway of a small-town hospital since Sunday, waiting for surgery in London, Ont.

Ron Prickett of Sault Ste Marie was in a cycling accident in Sauble Beach. He fell after swerving on a gravel road to avoid a motorcycle and his tire slipped on loose stones.

Prickett was taken by ambulance to Wiarton Hospital, part of Grey Bruce Health Services. He’s been in excruciating pain in a tiny makeshift room in one of the facility’s hallways, with nothing to distract him and no ability to turn the lights on or off. 

“I have a fluorescent light over my head that is operated externally down the hall,” he told CBC News on Wednesday. “It’s got plastic sheeting on the walls. It’s not a proper bed. There’s no TV or anything, just bare bones.”

Bed shortage leaves patient stranded in Wiarton

Prickett was supposed to be transferred to London Health Sciences Centre, the largest hospital in southwestern Ontario. It has the facilities and surgical expertise he needs to repair his leg — except, he said, a bed shortage in London has prevented him from leaving Wiarton. 

what century is this man in pain scared and waiting 4 days in ontario hospital hallway to fix broken leg
Prickett has been waiting to get into London Health Sciences Centre, pictured here in a file photo. The largest hospital in southwestern Ontario has the facilities and surgical expertise he needs, but he says he was told there’s a staff shortage. (Colin Butler/CBC)

“It blows my mind that in Ontario, we have these facilities and I can’t get a broken bone fixed. I have to lie around with a broken bone in my body for four days,” he said. “It’s so frustrating. I have no control.

“My family is doing as much as they can for me, but there’s nothing for them to do. It’s all happening in some board room down in London.”

A spokesperson for London Health Sciences Centre said the hospital has “been challenged with close to 100 per cent occupancy for months,” but did not specify why Prickett was being forced to stay in Wiarton. 

Mary Margaret Crapper, chief of communications and public affairs for Grey Bruce Health Services, told CBC News by email on Wednesday that the hospital could not discuss Pricket’s case due to “privacy reasons.”

She said Wiarton Hospital is “at capacity” and “experiencing staffing shortages,” and finding a bed can “take time.”

“Those who are waiting in our care for transfer to another facility are closely monitored. We recognize this wait can be stressful for patients and for their families.”

Prickett’s experience is the latest example of a provincial health system straining under staff shortages and capacity issues, as fed up and underpaid hospital workers quit from the exhaustion of battling the COVID-19 pandemic in an underfunded health system for more than two years. 

‘Get it done,’ says patient to Ford government

Earlier this month, Premier Doug Ford called on the federal government to open its wallet and deliver more health-care spending to the provinces. But Ontario’s opposition puts the blame squarely on the premier, arguing his penny-pinching policies caused the problem in the first place. 

what century is this man in pain scared and waiting 4 days in ontario hospital hallway to fix broken leg 1
A Toronto hospital worker transports a patient to dialysis at Humber River Hospital. Stories of overcrowding, burnout among staff and turmoil have emerged recently from Ontario hospitals. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press)

Prickett, who was still lying on the same stretcher paramedics brought him on to the hospital on Sunday, borrowed a well-worn phrase from Ford’s recent election campaign to urge politicians to put politics aside and fix the problem. 

“Get it done. Support the nurses, support the doctors and monitor it, make it accountable so these things don’t happen. What century are we in? It’s insane,” he said in a recorded telephone message he asked CBC News to deliver to Ontario Health Minister Sylvia Jones. 

CBC News sent the audio message by email to communications staff at the Ontario Ministry of Health on Wednesday. 

Anna Miller, a senior communications adviser with the ministry, wrote in an email that the message was passed on to the health minister’s office, but it was not made clear if Jones listened to it. 

Miller said in the email that the province is making “historic investments,” including an additional $3.3 billion to hospitals in 2022-23, to end hallway health care.

Share

Leave a comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Latest Posts

Related Articles
Drug precursors the new 'primary threat' entering Canada as fentanyl imports drop
Canada news

New Focus on Drug Precursors: The Evolving Battle Against Fentanyl in Canada

As Canada grapples with a devastating opioid crisis, law enforcement agencies are...

This boy hurt in collision didn't have an Indian status card, so Ottawa wouldn't pay for medical evacuation
Canada news

Family Calls for Change After Young Boy Denied Medical Evacuation Due to Status Card Issue

The family of a seven-year-old boy from the Deer Lake First Nation...

B.C. village mourns deaths of 2 longtime residents in landslide
Canada news

Tragedy Strikes Lions Bay: Community Grieves Loss of Beloved Couple in Landslide

The picturesque village of Lions Bay, located just 25 minutes north of...

This Alberta town has mountains on one side, Calgary on the other — and some big growing pains
Canada news

Cochrane, Alberta: A Town in Transition Faces Growing Pains Amidst Rapid Expansion

Nestled in a stunning river valley at the base of the majestic...