Health workers are speaking out after a busy B.C. hospital rented out some of its space for a movie shoot – even as patients were crammed into hallways.

The film crew for "The Mountain Between Us," an upcoming romance starring Kate Winslet and Idris Elba, was let into Port Moody's Eagle Ridge Hospital on Tuesday, and work is expected to continue until next Thursday.

A notice sent out alerting workers about the shoot lauded the move as a way to "reinvest in our site and our staff members."

But photos taken the day after the production arrived have raised questions about the hospital's priorities; they appear to show several patients waiting on beds in the hall.

"When I first saw that, I was quite honestly appalled," said Val Avery, president of the Health Sciences Association union. "We have to look at that and say, is that revenue stream worth it?"

At least eight patients went through emergency and were left waiting for beds in a hallway, according to the union, which provided the photos. Some patients allegedly waited for up to 36 hours.

The Fraser Health Authority insists the move isn't disrupting patient care at Eagle Ridge, however.

"The space that is currently being used by a film crew has not been used in the past year, because we have been able to improve the efficiency of moving our patients through the hospital and we have not needed this space," spokesperson Tasleem Juma told CTV News.

Juma said hospitals have been seeing higher-than-normal patient volumes, which can crowd emergency departments, but she cautioned against jumping to any conclusions based on a few pictures.

"The situation changes very quickly in the hospital, so you could have all those people there and an hour later, none of them are there," she said.

CTV News visited Eagle Ridge on Friday and found the same beds in the hallways were empty.

The health workers union said most winters are marked by busy periods, however, and Avery questioned the appropriateness of renting out space this time of year.

"We know hospitals reach peak capacity, whether it's because of flu season or because of weather conditions," she said, adding that patients should be given privacy whenever possible.

"Maybe this is just a time of year when they shouldn't be booking film crews to ward space."

With files from CTV Vancouver's David Molko