Hospitals crammed in Saskatoon

Officials in Saskatoon say they have brought in extra staff and are assigning overtime hours in an effort to cope with what they are calling an unprecedented surge in hospital patients.

"Saskatoon Health Region care providers in Saskatoon’s three hospitals are facing and addressing an extremely busy period, with a demand for inpatient beds that is not subsiding," officials said Wednesday.

At a news conference, officials said they are used to dealing with a jump in patients during the holiday season, but this year has been busier than ever before and has lasted well into January.

"We have more patients than we're able to have room for with high capacity right now," Pam Molnar, a nursing manager at St. Paul's Hospital, said. "We just never had it for this extended period of time before."

Molnar said no single illness accounts for the high volume.

Officials said they are finding space wherever they can, with some day surgery and recovery room beds being used for the overflow.

They say that while Saskatoon is a growing city, they are not sure if they need to add more patient beds.

The health region hopes the extra demand subsides.