Five Hills Health Region (FHHR) CEO Cheryl Craig met the media Tuesday afternoon, responding to claims made public less than two hours earlier. 

Moose Jaw's Cheryl Pakula detailed a number of issues to the media Tuesday morning, stemming from a 13-day stay hospital stay by a loved one in December. 

Among Pakula's concerns, she said that it took days for housekeeping to clean her loved one's patient room, the Emergency Room was too small and lacked privacy and housekeeping staff was delivering meals. 

Pakula was joined by provincial NDP Health Critic Danielle Chartier, who suggested that the issues were a result of the failure of the Lean model used in designing the Wigmore hospital, which opened in October. 

Responding to reporters' questions, Craig responded to Pakula's claims, acknowledging that hospital staff and administration have fallen short in some areas as they adapt to the new hospital. 

Craig said that dirty patient rooms are "unacceptable", and in the case of the room in question, "there were staff absences over the Christmas period for a number of reasons".

"Part ofour new processes is having a way that...our patients, our families, our staff...will know that the room has been cleaned and if it hasn't, then there is a follow-up step they can take."

As for the ER, Craig said it's small "by design" because their goal is to move patients from the waiting area into a room quickly.  But, she agreed that there is a lack of patient privacy in the area, and said they are already in the process of testing suggestions from staff and doctors to find a solution. 

"Some of those (ideas), they've tried already," Craig explained. "So it's bringing the patient around to a different place so they're not right adjacent to where the waiting room is. We're looking at other ways we can create what I would call 'white noise', so that in fact the people in the waiting room would not have the opportunity to overhear the conversation."

Craig also addressed Pakula's safety concern regarding food handled by housekeeping staff, saying hospital protocol, established by staff and administration, sees food carts first taken up to the hospital rooms. 

"The patients are asked, in the moment, from a selection that's there, what it is they would like to have for their meal," Craig said. "That then is served by dietary staff..put on the plate. The housekeeping staff take the tray and take it into the patient's room." Craig said all staff have sufficient safety training to ensure that meals are not compromised. 

Asked repeatedly if any of the issues were related to Lean practices, Craig said "no".