A Brampton family was appalled and disgusted following a visit to the emergency room at Brampton Civic Hospital.

Sherri Eldridge said her mother Andrea, 66, was rushed by ambulance to the emergency department at Brampton Civic Hospital on Tuesday, Jan. 2, after experiencing difficulty breathing.

Eldridge explained that her mother, who has lung cancer, is undergoing chemotherapy and had part of her lung removed.

There were “people on top of people” in the ER, she added, and the hospital called Code Gridlock at least three times. Code Gridlock is called when a hospital reaches and exceeds capacity.

“It was absolutely disgusting,” said Sherri Eldridge.

After waiting several hours, Eldridge said the hospital sent her mother home.

But, on Thursday, Jan. 4, Eldridge said her mother went to the hospital for a regular checkup before her upcoming chemotherapy appointment. Nurses tested her mother’s vital signs and she barely had a heartbeat, so her mother was taken to ER again.

Nurses told the family they didn’t know how long it would take for their mother to get a bed because there were 40 patients waiting in ER. Eldridge and her sister, Paula Cabral, took care of their mother in the lounge area.

“It was absolutely disgusting,” said Eldridge. The nearest bathroom was soiled with feces and vomit. The family carried their mother to another bathroom, but were yelled at by a nurse for leaving the ER holding area.

“It was wall-to-wall people,” Cabral added.

Cabral and Eldridge said they asked the nurses in the emergency department for soap and a towel so she could wash up. Nurses told them nothing was available in the ER.