Royal University Hospital staff call for change as ER hits triple capacity [Video]

Staff at Saskatoon’s Royal University Hospital (RUH) are calling for systemic changes just two days after its emergency room was more than three times above its capacity.

“It’s worse than it ever has been,” NDP Saskatoon Fairview candidate Vicki Mowat said outside of the hospital Thursday morning.

“We don’t have time to wait for help. When you have admitted patients in a hospital that don’t even have a chair to sit in, things are at a breaking point.”

Vicki Mowat speaking to reporters at the Saskatchewan Legislative Building on Dec. 20, 2023. (Courtesy: Saskatchewan NDP)

According to data from the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN), the RUH emergency room was at 350 per cent capacity overnight Tuesday — with 121 patients for 35 beds.

The union says there were 50 patients admitted with no beds, 25 people being treated in hallway beds and 10 ambulances were delayed in the paramedic …