FRONTLINE WORKERS SAY FREQUENTLY BROKEN ELEVATORS JEOPARDIZING PATIENT CARE AT ROYAL UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL

Revelations About Major Patient Care Concern Come Days After Photos Of Mould Growing In Hospital ICU Surfaced

SASKATOON — Leaked notices and testimony from frontline workers provided to Carla Beck’s team indicates elevators at Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon are frequently broken or stall when in use, forcing medical professionals to perform lifesaving procedures under dangerous conditions.

Sources close to Carla Beck's team have explained that when the freight elevator is unavailable, there is no workaround for certain patients other than disconnecting a ventilator in order to fit them, along with their care team, into a standard elevator. Healthcare workers have told Carla Beck's team that a critically ill patient was recently trapped in a malfunctioning elevator for nearly 15 minutes at RUH.

“This goes beyond a system in crisis — this is the type of healthcare you would expect to see in a war zone, not a modern-day Canadian city,” said Matt Love, Official Opposition Caucus Chair, “ The Premier talks a big game about putting patients first. My question to the Premier remains: How is a healthcare system where patients are put at risk because they are trapped in broken elevators an example of putting patients first?”

Healthcare workers have described a system stretched beyond its limits, where equipment failures are becoming routine and staff are forced to improvise solutions in situations where every second can mean the difference between life and death.

Recently, photos have also emerged of mould growing on the windows in RUH’s Intensive Care Unit.

“Patients and frontline workers deserve better than a government that waits for a tragedy before taking action,” said Love, “When healthcare professionals are being forced to disconnect ventilated patients to navigate around broken infrastructure, that is not an inconvenience — it is a patient-safety emergency.”

Carla Beck’s team is calling on the government to immediately disclose the extent of elevator outages at Royal University Hospital, provide a timeline for repairs, and release a plan to ensure critically ill patients can be transported safely throughout the facility.

“Saskatchewan families expect hospitals to save lives, not create new risks for patients already fighting for theirs,” Love said.

“It’s time for change.”

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