Saskatoon cancer patient says he endured 6 days in chaotic ER hallway

Jeremy Warren · CBC News

· Posted: Nov 05, 2025 7:26 PM EST | Last Updated: November 6

A Saskatoon household wants the radical successful complaint of Saskatchewan hospitals to enactment successful 1 for a fewer sleepless nights to afloat recognize what a loved 1 endured portion stuck successful a furniture successful a engaged exigency section hallway.

Lloyd Coakwell, 74, has a uncommon bony marrow crab called myelofibrosis. Last month, helium went to Royal University Hospital with a terrible receptor infection.

He spent the adjacent six days successful a furniture successful the exigency department’s chaotic hallway. There was nary privateness and helium slept restlessly nether agleam lights and crossed from a country wherever the infirmary stores soiled laundry.

Already dealing with crab and a superior infection, Lloyd struggled to support his intelligence wellness and the household suffered watching it, said his woman Marilyn Coakwell. 

“How tin you heal?” Marilyn said successful an interrogation astatine her home. “How tin you perchance heal physically and mentally? You don't. It breaks you.”

On Wednesday, the Coakwell household and the Opposition NDP held a quality league to propulsion for enactment from wellness officials. Marilyn challenged Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill and Saskatchewan Health Authority executives to walk a fewer nights successful a hallway infirmary bed.

“You request to acquisition it,” she said.

“I'm not seeing a full batch of empathy and the lone mode you could really, genuinely recognize it is if you were successful there," she said. "Unless you're consenting to enactment yourself successful that position…"

“They won't,” Lloyd said.

WATCH | 'No dignity': Sask. antheral decries mother's days-long enactment successful infirmary hallway:

The CBC requested an interrogation from the Saskatchewan Health Authority and was sent a statement, which acknowledged that “capacity pressures make a hard situation for patients who are seeking care” astatine infirmary exigency departments.

“We regret that these pressures person resulted successful a hard acquisition for this diligent during an already challenging time, and we would invited the accidental to conscionable with this diligent to amended recognize and larn from their experience,” the SHA said successful the statement.

The SHA said “enhancements” are coming to amended ER hold times and it volition adhd 109 acute attraction inpatient beds astatine City Hospital implicit the adjacent year.

NDP Opposition wellness professional Keith Jorgenson said overcrowding is happening due to the fact that hospitals are “clogged up” with erstwhile acute attraction patients waiting to determination into semipermanent attraction oregon rehabilitation.

He said the state should unfastened City Hospital’s exigency country 24 hours a time to easiness unit connected the different 2 hospitals.

Marilyn said infirmary unit were large portion moving nether hard circumstances and Lloyd was yet moved to a country with much privacy. But the traumatic acquisition inactive affects her husband, who had trouble recounting his six days astatine RUH.

“Something is incorrect with the system,” Lloyd said.

Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill seems to agree.

“Some of the stories, rather frankly, are conscionable not acceptable,” Cockrill told reporters connected Wednesday astatine the legislature. “We cognize determination are challenges successful the health-care system.”

Cockrill said caller investments into the health-care strategy volition instrumentality clip to wage off, but 40 of the 109 caller beds for City Hospital are already successful use.

“This isn't thing that happens overnight,” Cockrill said. “You don't adhd acute furniture abstraction wrong a time oregon wrong a week. You besides person to unit up due to the fact that acute beds instrumentality much staff.”

WATCH | Man who underwent invasive process successful infirmary hallway recounts experience: