Senior, 93, forced to sleep in hospital hallway leaves her Edmonton family outraged | 24CA News
It’s been a distressing few days for Carmen Renderos and her household in Edmonton.
Last week, her 93-year-old mom, Virginia Chacon, was admitted to the University of Alberta Hospital after a foul fall.
“We called the ambulance and we thought she had a fracture or something,” Renderos mentioned.
At first, her mother was in a shared room, in line with Renderos, then briefly moved to a personal room on the Edmonton hospital.
On Tuesday, nevertheless, Virginia was moved once more — with out consent or the household’s data — to the hallway of the unit she was on.
Renderos came upon whereas she was speaking to her mother on the telephone.
“When I start talking to her, she starts crying and I say: Why are you crying? What’s going on? And she said to me ‘I don’t know what’s happening. I am outside. I’m not in the room. I am in front where the nurses are,’” Renderos defined.
“She was very scared, she was afraid, she was worried.”
Renderos mentioned her mother doesn’t know English — solely Spanish — and didn’t perceive what was occurring.
The household alleges that whereas Virginia was within the hallway, nobody tended to her for hours and employees forgot to convey her a meal.
“My daughter went to visit her later on and she found out her supper was missed because she wasn’t in the room,” Renderos mentioned.
She additionally famous her mother couldn’t sleep due to the fixed noise within the hallway.
“This is not right — this is unacceptable. Nobody deserves to be treated like that. Nobody.”
Renderos mentioned she was advised her mom was moved as a result of the room was wanted for a affected person who needed to be in isolation.
“I asked her doctor ‘How many days she will be in the hallway?’ She said it might be two or three days,” Renderos defined.
In an announcement to Global News, Alberta Health Services mentioned it has acknowledged the household’s issues and provides when hospitals expertise a surge of sufferers, some have to be moved and hallways are an choice.
“When this happens, we enact measures that support patient flow, which ensures patients get the care they need as quickly as possible,” AHS mentioned.
“One of these measures requires units to temporarily accept the care of one patient above their usual capacity. This may mean that a patient is moved to a hallway until another arrangement can be made.”
AHS famous sufferers moved into the hallway are chosen based mostly on medical stability and who don’t have airborne isolation necessities.
“This is not the preferred method to provide care, but is sometimes necessary to ensure that all patients receive the care they need. We know this can be difficult for the patient and their families,” AHS mentioned.
Renderos mentioned she appreciates all of the nurses have accomplished for her mom and acknowledges the scenario was out of their fingers, however she doesn’t need different households to undergo this.
“Today it’s my mom, tomorrow it can be your family or anybody else’s family,” she mentioned.
On Thursday, the household mentioned Virginia was transferred to the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital.
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