A Canadian woman who sought emergency treatment for severe abdominal pain is drawing attention online after describing a long and frustrating wait for care at a hospital in Nova Scotia, highlighting ongoing concerns about strain within Canada’s healthcare system.
Amanda Gushue, 37, of Cape Breton, said she first visited her primary care physician after experiencing intense pain and swelling. Her doctor suspected appendicitis and directed her to the emergency department for immediate evaluation.
After arriving at the hospital, Gushue said she spent roughly two hours in triage before being sent to the waiting room. Once there, she learned the wait to see a doctor or nurse could range anywhere from five to 15 hours.
Ultimately, she said she waited approximately 10 to 12 additional hours before receiving medical attention.
“There were probably about 150 seats, and they were all full,” Gushue told Fox News Digital. “This is what we deal with when we go to the hospital on a regular basis — you’re looking at spending a full day there.”
During her wait, Gushue said she witnessed other patients experiencing serious medical issues who were also waiting extended periods for treatment. She recalled seeing an elderly woman with a head injury who was “bleeding profusely” but reportedly waited two hours before being treated.
Gushue believes the delays are largely driven by a shortage of physicians.
“We have tons of nurses, but no doctors,” she said.
Even after she was admitted, Gushue said she felt the care environment lacked adequate privacy and that the overall experience reflected an overburdened healthcare system.
Canada operates a publicly funded universal healthcare system in which eligible residents receive medical services through provincial health insurance programs financed primarily through taxes.
Despite the program’s goal of universal access, wait times have become an increasingly debated issue in many provinces.
“I would rather pay for my healthcare at this point and get treated fairly,” Gushue said, though she also expressed sympathy for the medical staff working under heavy workloads.
“The healthcare system is overworked right now, and these doctors are probably exhausted,” she added. “They’re working around the clock, and then after a 16- or 17-hour shift, you get a cranky doctor.”
Gushue was eventually admitted to the hospital, where doctors confirmed appendicitis and removed her appendix. She is now recovering and says she “feels great.”
National data suggests the pressure on Canadian emergency departments has been growing. According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, hospitals recorded more than 16.1 million unscheduled emergency department visits in the 2024–2025 period, up from roughly 15.5 million the previous year.
The organization reports that among patients admitted to hospitals through emergency departments, nine out of ten visits are completed within about 48.5 hours. For patients not admitted, nine out of ten visits are completed within approximately eight hours, though wait times vary significantly by province.
Healthcare experts cite several factors contributing to longer waits, including staff shortages, limited hospital bed availability, overcrowding, and difficulty accessing primary care services that might otherwise prevent emergency visits.
Emergency physicians across Canada say the situation has grown increasingly severe.
Dr. Warren Thirsk, an emergency physician in Edmonton, told the Calgary Journal that some hospitals are seeing more than 100 patients waiting in rooms designed for far fewer people.
“People who can stand, stand. Some are on the ground, and we’re hoping they’re alive,” he said. “And you walk by this carnage, and then you start your day.”
Another physician, Dr. Michael Howlett, president of the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians, said the conditions in emergency departments are worse than at any point in his decades-long career.
“I’ve worked in emergency departments since 1987, and it’s by far the worst it’s ever been,” he told CityNews.
According to Howlett, extreme overcrowding has at times forced medical staff to perform life-saving procedures in hallways or on ambulance stretchers due to the lack of available beds.
In January, Alberta officials launched an investigation after a 44-year-old man reportedly died following an eight-hour wait in an Edmonton emergency department while experiencing chest pain.
