Senior spent 9 days in hallway of Victoria General Hospital while being treated for complications from infections

Eric Roberts is back in his Saanich home, creating the pottery he loves, after an ordeal at Victoria General Hospital a couple weeks ago in which he spent nine days in the hallway getting treated for delirium and other complications from infections.

Eric Roberts is back in his Saanich home, creating the pottery he loves, after an ordeal at Victoria General Hospital a couple weeks ago in which he spent nine days in the hallway getting treated for delirium and other complications from infections.

“It’s hard work keeping yourself thinking properly because you just want out and you wonder why you're in a hallway,” said Roberts Thursday.

The 87-year-old eventually got assigned a room for half a day, but overcrowding meant he was turfed back into the hallway for most of his stay.

"There was always noise, and you don't care who's looking at you after a while, because you just want out,” he said.

Island Health said it couldn’t comment on the specifics of this case, but acknowledged that there are capacity issues at hospitals across the province, and sometimes patients in the region are treated in hallways, something the health authority apologized for.

Premier David Eby weighed in on Roberts’ experience.

“It doesn’t meet the standard of care of any British Columbian in terms of the standard of care you should get in this province. Our health-care system is under significant strain,” Eby said at an unrelated news conference Thursday.