The NSGEU says staff at the Halifax Infirmary have had to perform C-P-R in elevators because of an over-crowded emergency department…and conditions are unsafe for patients.
The union says the Infirmary called 146 code census incidents last year, which means the E-R had reached capacity and patients were shifted to other areas of the hospital…sometimes left on gurneys in hallways.
The union is recommending code census calls and treatment wait times be publicly documented and that staffing level policies be re-examined for times when there is overcrowding in the emergency department.