Stoney Point woman says she'd rather die at home than go back to hallway medicine

Mary Gail Beuglet, 82, says she never wants to go back to hospital in Windsor, Ont., following her recent experience waiting in a hallway to get into the ER.

"Maybe I'll die but you know at least I'll be comfortable here," said Beuglet at her home in Stoney Point, Ont., Friday.

Beuglet suffered a near-fatal heart attack in January and was fitted with a pacemaker, so when she collapsed and became unresponsive Wednesday her husband called for an ambulance.

"The drivers told me don't come to the hospital because you won't be able to be with her anyways," said Roger Beuglet.

Mary Gail arrived at the Ouellette Campus of Windsor Regional Hospital at around 4:30 p.m. but says she languished in a hallway on a stretcher until midnight when she was seen in the emergency room.

She was monitored all the time, and it turned out she didn't have a heart attack but she says she was cold and uncomfortable the whole time.

"In the hospital, it's not comfortable. You're freezing all the time. There's no heat," said Beuglet.

Roger said he didn't go to the hospital until the following morning, when she was discharged after spending the night in the ER. He wishes he could have been there to keep her company and comfortable.

Paramedics had to stay with her the whole time she was in the hallway, so he questions how many other calls they could have gone on if she would have been seen sooner.

"Because how is the ambulance going to pick up any patients that need help and care and they're in the waiting room with her waiting to be entered in the emergency area," said Roger.

Their daughter, Rosalind Tellier, wants to see the health-care system better funded.

"My daughter's a nurse. She's works overtime. She has too many patients. Everybody has too many patients. They can't keep up. So no wonder we've lost so many nurses," said Tellier, who feels the situation will just worsen with aging Baby Boomers.

The hospital declined to comment on this story.

A spokesperson for Essex County said Essex-Windsor EMS chief Bruce Krauter was not available for comment but told CBC News the offloading problem hasn't gone away.