Emergency and acute care: patients' ER stories
In 2024 and 2025, Albertans told their MLAs and the province what really happens in Alberta's emergency rooms: long waits, hallway care, and patients leaving without being seen.
The campaign and why it mattered
Emergency departments are there for people who need urgent care. Long waits, care in hallways, and leaving before seeing a care provider can make an already stressful experience harder for patients and families.
In 2024, Patients First invited Albertans to tell their MLAs about their experiences of emergency and hospital care. In May and June 2025, a hospital experience survey reached people across Alberta and asked what happened when they sought care.
Patients described delays, treatment in spaces not designed for care, and other barriers. Their responses helped put lived experiences at the centre of public discussion about emergency care, rather than relying on wait-time figures alone.
- hospital survey responses
- 12,625hospital survey responses
- Albertans emailed their MLA about acute care
- 2,419Albertans emailed their MLA about acute care
What happened next
- Patient responses informed the first State of Health Care report in July 2025, which highlighted patients leaving emergency departments without treatment.
- The findings were covered by news outlets across Alberta, bringing patient experiences into the public conversation about access to care.
- The 2026 report continued to document these concerns: 35% of emergency department visitors reported being treated in non-traditional spaces or leaving without being seen. This is an ongoing challenge, not a resolved outcome.