Cancer patient recalls hospital storage room ordeal
By Lethbridge Herald on February 1, 2025.
Submitted photo -
In this photo provided by Rose Roll, belongings and a hospital bed are shown next to a shelving unit in a storage room, where the Taber woman says she stayed for over 24 hours earlier this week as a patient at Chinook Regional Hospital.Alexandra Noad – LETHBRIDGE HERALD – Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
A Taber woman who was admitted to the Chinook Regional Hospital for observation after receiving cancer treatment was appalled to have been moved to a storage room five days into her stay.
Rose Roll was admitted to CRH on Jan. 19 to be monitored following her cancer treatment for multiple myeloma, as it is a new treatment and patients can have reactions and need special medical attention.
On Jan. 24, she was transported to receive one of her injections and she says she was confused when one of the staff mentioned she was going to be put in a storage room.
“When we came back, the porter takes me to my room, but (one of the other staff) comes and says no she’s in a different room, I’ll show you,” says Roll.
She spent more than 24 hours in the storage room, which contained shelving of medical equipment along with medical equipment hung behind the door, making it impossible for any privacy.
She was able to move the equipment hung behind the door. But it was still a storage room, and Roll says she says she was abruptly awoken during the night when nurses needed equipment from the room.
“I was actually sleeping one time and two workers (came in), flipped on the bright lights, said ‘oh,’ got their equipment and left again, so absolutely no privacy,” she says. “They didn’t knock.”
As the room didn’t have a washroom, Roll was directed to use the washroom in a nearby room with two male patients, which was busy with nurse activity and visitors.
She says she wasn’t comfortable with going into someone else’s room, especially since she has a suppressed immune system.
“I just did not feel comfortable barging into their room, especially with contamination and germs.”
She chose a public washroom as she knew it was cleaned regularly and she could take precautions.
Roll says her room was never properly cleaned,. The housekeeper tried to sweep as best she could, but unlike the other rooms, nothing was wiped down.
“The housekeeping lady was doing her round and she came and she was puzzled and she said, ‘oh I’ll give you a quick mop,’” says Roll. “But she couldn’t clean because (there was) stuff everywhere. She just did a couple sweeps with the mop in the middle of the floor, but there was no caddy wipes, no wiping of anything (like) when I was in my other room.”
While her bed was moved to the storage space, it appeared to have been dragged across the floor and was dirty. Roll says she had to not only track down staff to ask to get a new sheet, she also had to find her own supplies, because the nurses were so busy. That said, she recognizes it wasn’t their fault.
“The nurses do a great job, it’s nothing to do with the staff, but eventually I had to find a staff room to get my own supplies.”
Roll adds that she felt like because she was in a supply closet she was forgotten about, even having to chase down a breakfast.
“I didn’t feel like they checked on me as much,” says Roll. “I honestly think they forgot about me and why wouldn’t they? Same with the staff that forgot to bring me breakfast. I don’t really blame them because it’s a storage room; they probably just did their regular rooms.”
Roll also says the storage room also lacked the amenities that help make a hospital stay more comfortable, such as a window, rubber gloves, masks and stationary monitors, and medical equipment.
Roll took to Facebook following her discharge and over to express her concerns. In response, many other patients who were placed into the same room shared similar concerns and experiences.
Nurses who worked on the floor thanked her for sharing her experience, saying it disgusted them but that they didn’t have the power to do anything about it.
“I’ve had nurses reach out from that floor and other floors, thanking me for (speaking out) because it disgusts them, but they can’t do anything about it. Their hands are kind of tied, especially in their positions.”
Roll says she has a meeting with management at CRH to discuss her concerns.
Alberta Health Services says CRH is currently in high patient-demand and the unit Roll was staying on had a respiratory outbreak and the storage room was to increase capacity.
“To increase capacity, we have reconfigured a storage room into an over-capacity space, ensuring that patients receive the same level of care as they would in regular inpatient rooms” said the statement from AHS “Over-capacity spaces are commonly utilized during periods of high demand to maintain patient care standards. It’s an established practice and we emphasize patients in over-capacity spaces receive safe and appropriate care.”
AHS confirmed that the shelving unit was removed, but only after Roll was discharged, and also confirmed that the room would continue to be used as needed.
Roll says she doubts anyone connected to the Alberta government would have ended up in her circumstances.
“I could guarantee our premier or MLA would not stay in that room, or have family members stay in that room, and that’s troublesome to think that they can shove an average Joe (in a storage room.)”
AHS says it will take Roll’s concerns seriously and anyone who also has concerns about their hospital stay should direct them to the Patient Relations team.
“We apologize to this patient for their experience at Chinook Regional Hospital. We are committed to ensuring the comfort of all patients and encourage anyone with concerns to contact our Patient Relations team, where we will make every effort to address their concerns.”
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Again, UCP wackos and Danielle are using the Trump playbook to create chaos.
Health Minister gone to a Prayer breakfast in Washington DC.
Lordy Lordy!
https://lethbridgeherald.com/news/lethbridge-news/2025/02/01/province-dissolves-ahs-board-health-care-agency-to-be-run-by-alberta-health-deputy-minister/
You couldn’t make this s$&t up !
This is what our health system has degenerated to. Now we have a guy with a degree in the Arts in charge (at least until Smith decides to fire him). It’s beyond embarrassing.
whomever the clown that decided a room full of supplies is a safe place for a patient, and safe given the supplies are being used for other patients – should be fired. well done ucp – a great window into how you idiots operate.
thank you very much for sharing a difficult and crass experience, rose roll. never, ever should it have come to this.