A Moose Jaw woman has voiced major concerns about staffing, cleanliness and the design of Moose Jaw's Dr. F.H. Wigmore regional hospital. 

Cheryl Pakula, who was joined by NDP Health Critic Danielle Chartier, met the media in the parking lot of the Western Development Museum Tuesday morning with the Wigmore hospital in the background. They both took aim at the Lean methodology used in building the Wigmore hospital, the first of its kind in Canada.  

Pakula detailed a 13-day Wigmore hospital stay by a "loved one" in December, and said the experience left her questioning the Lean model. Pakula says right from the start there was no hospital staff coming around to clean the hospital room. 

"On day 3 we decided we should be doing some infection control ourselves and we brought disinfectant wipes from home," Pakula said. "On day 8 we asked someone if they would sweep the floor because we had dirty laundy, used syringes (and) medical waste under the bed.  Finally on day 10 someone came in and actually cleaned the room."

Cheryl Pakula says she took this picture in her loved one's hospital room a few days into their stay

Pakula also claims that hospital staff are multi-tasking, to the point of creating potential safety hazards. 

"The housekeeping staff is actually handing out meals, so...their shift is spent helping the kitchen. I'm very concerned that they might come and clean the toilet in a loved one's room, then go hand their dinner to them.  That's a concern."

The size of the Wigmore's Emergency Room was also cause for concern to Pakula, who says the area isn't large enough to accommodate patients and results in a lack of patient privacy. 

"When we first got there, my loved one came in by ambulance," Pakula detailed. "Unfortunately, for all of the people who were at the administration (desk) in the emergency ward...I can tell you everything about their health concerns because they were less than 10 feet away..there's no privacy there.  When the chairs filled up in the emergency room, there were people sitting on the floor."

The Ministry of Health confirms that the size of the ER waiting room is 17 square meters, or "the size of 4 ping pong tables" according to a NDP media release on the issue. 

Pakula says she voiced concerns to the Five Hills Health Region but "was not very happy" with their response.  Pakula says FHHR CEO Cheryl Craig told her that the region was "working on it". 

In addition, Pakula says that Minister Of Health Dustin Duncan spoke with her about thirty minutes before Tuesday's media conference, and told her to "address the Quality Care Coordinator at the Five Hills Health Region" and that her concerns "would be addressed". 

As for the NDP, Chartier says that "Lean has made a huge mess...it's not a patient-centred hospital, it's a Lean-driven hospital, and that needs to change".

The Five Hills Health Region will be responding to Pakula's concerns Tuesday afternoon.