Nurses at St. Paul's Hospital 'stop the line' after patient goes into respiratory arrest
CTV
A traumatic situation in a Saskatoon hospital waiting room has prompted nurses to enact a last-resort measure to sound the alarm about overcapacity and patient safety.
A traumatic situation in a Saskatoon hospital waiting room prompted nurses to enact a last-resort measure to sound the alarm about overcapacity and patient safety.
A patient went into respiratory arrest on Monday morning in the St. Paul's Hospital emergency waiting room, according to staff.
Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN) said there was no space behind the ER doors, with four beds in the hallway already.
The situation triggered nurses calling to "stop the line" — a phrase that originated from the manufacturing industry, where assembly lines can be stopped if there's an emergency.
Monday marked the first time St. Paul's emergency nurses have ever initiated this measure, which triggered a health and safety review.
"It means the workplace has gotten so untenable that we have to say, 'Okay, we need to stop here.' It's become dangerous for patients. It's become dangerous for workers, and we're actually not able to do the job we're hired to do," SUN President Tracy Zambory told CTV News.
"Something systemically has gone terribly wrong."
