SASKATOON, Sask. — "Unacceptable" was the word Neal Ferniuk used to describe the experience of his 94-year-old mother, Berdeane Bodley, who is suffering from dementia and spent three days in a hallway at Royal University Hospital (RUH) after a fall.
Ferniuk, who lives in Edmonton, says the experience is particularly troubling because his mother endured a similar wait for a hospital bed following a fall nearly a year earlier. Bodley’s most recent fall occurred in late September, when she broke her collarbone and was taken to RUH.
“To be in the hallway for three days? I don't understand. To me, that's not acceptable at all. I mean, there should be — you go to emergency, you get help, you get a bed. There's got to be a system that facilitates when you need the care, the care is there,” said Ferniuk.
He shared his mother’s experience during a media event with associate shadow minister for health Keith Jorgenson and social services shadow minister Erika Ritchie on Tuesday, Oct. 20, outside RUH.
Ferniuk said he was in Edmonton when he spoke with his mother, who remained in the emergency department hallway, unsure what he could do to help from a distance. Concerned about her situation, he contacted the MLA who represents his mother to raise the issue.
He said this was not the first time his mother had experienced such a wait. She fell and fractured her hip in September last year and spent a couple of days in the hallway before receiving a hospital bed. This time, she again waited about three days before being moved into a bed.
Ferniuk said he hopes sharing his family’s experience will draw attention to a broader problem rather than an isolated incident, and he recalled speaking with nurses who described the system as broken.
For Ferniuk, the situation is especially difficult because his mother is 94 and living with dementia. Although she still recognizes him, she can become confused, which makes the unfamiliar, busy hospital environment even more challenging.
“From a family perspective, it's very hard,” said Ferniuk, adding that spending days in a hallway without the comfort of familiar surroundings increased his concerns about his mother’s well-being. He said his mother had been living in an intermediate care home before the fall, and he hopes she will eventually be able to return there.
Facing uncertainty
Bodley’s hospital stay continued after her time in the emergency hallway, and Ferniuk said she was moved to a private room for two days after developing a cold while hospital staff assessed how serious it might be. She was subsequently transferred to a standard ward with three other patients.
With his mother still in hospital weeks after the fall, Ferniuk said the family is now facing uncertainty about what comes next. He questioned whether she could return to her intermediate care home, given the fall's impact on her ability to care for herself.
Ferniuk said his mother had previously received support through Saskatchewan’s Geriatric Evaluation and Management program, which first diagnosed her dementia. He holds power of attorney for his mother and said he was advised to invoke it on her behalf following the diagnosis.
While he acknowledged there had been positive aspects to her care, her repeated experiences waiting for a bed have left him questioning how the health-care system supports older people with complex needs. The challenge extends beyond treating an injury to ensuring patients can access appropriate care and support as their circumstances change.
The experience has also prompted Ferniuk to reflect on how society cares for its aging population. He acknowledged that resources and funding matter, but argued that the problem also requires a system that can get people the care they need when they need it.
“We're all adults. We're all smart. I mean, we've got to be able to figure it out,” said Ferniuk, adding that his mother’s second experience, almost a year after the first, made him question whether anything had changed and what priority is being given to older people who need ongoing care.
Ultimately, Ferniuk hopes speaking publicly will draw attention to the challenges seniors and their families face when hospital beds and appropriate supports are not readily available. For him, his mother’s experience raises questions about how the system responds to vulnerable people, particularly those living with dementia and recovering from serious falls.
Reflecting on his own future as he ages, Ferniuk expressed frustration with a system he believes should do more to support people when they become ill. “The health care system works if you're healthy. Don't get sick because it's not going to help.”
Broader concerns
Jorgenson said he felt both sadness and anger about what Bodley experienced while trying to receive medical care at the province’s largest hospital, arguing that the incident reflects broader concerns about patient care at RUH and pointing to other cases that have drawn attention to conditions at the hospital.
“I'm sad because we're here to talk about a 94-year-old woman who had dementia, who spent three days and nights in a hallway in the emergency room behind us, confused and in pain. And, you know, that's completely and totally unacceptable,” said Jorgenson.
He referenced a patient whose image went viral after she was photographed sleeping in a waiting room because no bed was available, as well as the case of Kirsten Hanke, who sought care for a broken ankle and later died from complications.
Jorgenson criticized the provincial government’s response to concerns raised by hundreds of frontline health-care workers who wrote to Premier Scott Moe and Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill about unsafe conditions at the hospital approximately a year earlier, calling for an investigation and support for staff.
Ritchie added that Bodley’s experience raised serious questions about patient safety, dignity and recovery, and argued that seniors should receive compassionate care, particularly when they are most vulnerable.
“My heart breaks for Berdeane and her entire family. Families should not have to wonder how long their loved ones will be left waiting in a hallway, or whether they will get the care they deserve,” said Ritchie, adding that no one should have to endure such an experience because of failures in health-care delivery.
Both opposition MLAs called for significant changes to Saskatchewan’s health-care system, with Jorgenson saying better care was possible and that the NDP has prepared major reforms. Ritchie echoed that message, saying Saskatchewan could once again become a national leader in health care.
Jorgenson said repeated concerns from RUH underscored the need for action over continued promises, and Ritchie similarly urged Saskatchewan residents to expect better from their health-care system, emphasizing that seniors deserve dignity and compassion.
Continued investments in health care
Cockrill said patients waiting in emergency department hallways highlight capacity pressures across the province’s health-care system and that the government is investing in additional hospital beds and other care services to address them.
The Battlefords MLA, responding to concerns raised by Bodley’s son, acknowledged the situation was not appropriate and that a hallway is not the right place for any patient, pointing to the need to expand acute-care capacity.
Cockrill said patients often remain in emergency departments while waiting for an acute-care bed, making it important to increase capacity across Saskatoon’s three hospitals. He said the government understands the pressures facing emergency rooms and is advancing projects intended to help patients move through the system more efficiently.
“This is exactly why we’re making these sort of investments, significant investments,” Cockrill said, adding that expanding hospital capacity is essential to ensuring patients receive appropriate care promptly.
He also emphasized the link between hospital overcrowding and long-term care availability, adding that some patients occupying hospital beds may be better served in long-term care facilities. Still, limited space in those settings can strain acute-care services.
Cockrill said Saskatchewan is investing in long-term care to ensure patients have access to a more appropriate setting when they no longer need hospital-level treatment or require ongoing support, adding that the problem requires investment across the health-care system rather than focusing on hospitals alone.
He pointed to primary-care measures, including additional nurse practitioners, more seats in medical colleges and additional family medicine residency positions. He highlighted efforts to move certain services outside hospitals, including procedures at facilities such as Market Mall in Saskatoon and publicly funded, privately delivered surgical clinics in Saskatoon and Regina.
Cockrill said these measures are intended to free up hospital resources while ensuring patients can access the services they need. He said the government’s approach is focused on providing the right care in the right setting, whether that means primary care, acute hospital treatment or continuing care.
“So, it really speaks to what we’re trying to do with patients first is make investments in all of those areas to ensure that patients are getting the right care in the right place,” said Cockrill, who also acknowledged that patients should not be left waiting in hallways while emphasizing that expanding capacity across multiple parts of the system is necessary to ease the pressure.
