‘Forced’ to publicly pee in bottle: New hospital corridor ramping petition
A Safework report has revealed disturbing details of a Modbury Hospital patient stuck in a corridor, with a petition launched today calling for a solution.
Shadow Health Minister Jack Batty said a man “forced to urinate in a bottle in a public corridor” showed SA’s ramping problem had moved “from the driveway to the hallway”.
Batty’s comments come after a Safework report submitted by the nurses union revealed “staff had to use a draw sheet to provide privacy when assisting the patient with a urinal bottle”.
“The nearest toilet was approximately 60 metres away,” the report said.
“The patient, admitted following a fall with a hip injury and limited mobility, was accommodated in an alcove corridor without a call bell, oxygen, suction, or privacy screen.
“Staff expressed concerns regarding increased workload, extreme psychological and moral distress, professional accountability and registration, and fear of a similar incident occurring to the recent RAH event.”
You might like
The report said the matter was “resolved with staff advocacy” and union intervention.
InDaily understands it was disputed whether the man was “forced” to urinate in the corridor, or if he was given the option to be assisted to the bathroom.
Today, Damien Sargeant, whose mother Helen died in 2025 while in a corridor at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, has started a petition calling on the government to end corridor care, saying “it needs to stop”.
“We are haunted by the fact that in mum’s final hours, she was denied the privacy and dignity she deserved,” Sargent said.
Stay informed, daily
“This devastating experience compelled us to start this petition.
“We are calling for the state government to take immediate action to end the practice of ‘corridor care’.”
The petition, launched online today, is seeking 12,000 signatures, Sargent said.
It comes after the nurses union called on SafeWork SA to investigate the work health and safety risks posed by corridor care at the Royal Adelaide Hospital in August.
The union also called for immediate action to reduce overcrowding, address staffing shortages and protect the psychological health and safety of nurses.
Health Minister Blair Boyer is expected to address the media about this incident on Friday afternoon.
Boyer has previously said emergency departments were under increased pressure across the country and this meant “admitting patients to wards over census does sometimes occur when hospitals are working to discharge patients and get rooms ready”.
“[Corridor care] is used for short periods when clinically safe to get patients out of emergency departments and ready to move into a room as soon as it’s available,” he said.
A coroner’s report on ramping published earlier this year said a “cultural shift is required towards an appreciation that at certain agreed trigger points, wards being over census is less risky to patients than extremely overcrowded emergency departments”.
The coroner also described SA Health’s strategies to respond to ramping as “extremely comprehensive and well thought through” and said they represent “an excellent use of public funds”.
The nurses union was contacted for comment.
Want to see more stories from InDaily SA in your Google search results?
- Click here to set InDaily SA as a preferred source.
- Tick the box next to "InDaily SA". That's it.
