NDP sound the alarm on Sudbury hospital overcrowding

Sudbury's Roberte Cunningham had no idea what an overflow room was when she went to hospital in September.

She was admitted to Health Sciences North with abdominal pain, and to her dismay, her hospital room was an old shower that was being used for storage.

"I remember being shocked and thinking, you know saying to the nurse actually, you have got to be kidding me," she recalled.

"It turned out to being, you know, an extended stay in that space and it was very disheartening, it was very depressing. There's nothing to do but think about the pain you're in."

The vice-president of patient services at Health Sciences North says there are an average of 20 patients like Cunningham on a daily basis, meaning the hospital is running at 110 per cent occupancy.

David McNeil says the hospital works to ensure that their care is not compromised.

"We always make sure that we're evaluating patients in terms of their care needs," he said.

Provincial issue

On Tuesday, NDP leader Andrea Horwath was in Sudbury to talk about overcrowding. She says Health Sciences North is just one example of overcrowding in Ontario.

Horwath says the health care system has been underfunded for 14 years.

"We have a provincial Liberal government that has underfunded hospitals for far too long," she said.

Health minister Eric Hoskins acknowledges hospitals are facing increasing demands as a result of an aging population. But he says the province is taking steps to address the issue.

"Our government is investing an additional $140 million in the hospital, home and community sectors, to create over 2,000 new beds and spaces across the care continuum-equivalent to six medium sized hospitals," he said.

"This investment includes over 75 new beds and spaces in the North East LHIN."