London-West MPP Peggy Sattler says there is mounting crisis in London due to a lack of mental health beds.

She raised her concerns Thursday during Question Period after reading a report in the London Free Press that six patients were left to wait in Victoria Hospital’s Emergency Room for 20 hours on the weekend. Sattler says patients were forced to spend the night on the floor as other patients with physical injuries were treated. 

Health Minister Deb Matthews told Sattler the Liberals are investing heavily in mental health care, but there is always more that can be done.

Sattler says if mental health patients in Ontario need beds there have to be spaces available.

The London-West MPP says a “fundamental shift” needs to be implemented, and in Question Period she demanded a timeline for when those changes will be made.

Matthews says she was disturbed by the Free Press story, but the London Health Sciences Centre is investigating. She adds that they have made significant improvements, citing the introduction of a 24-hour crisis line to help people with immediate mental health issues.

Sattler used the example of a London constituent who she says has been living in a hospital room for ten months because there is no safe place to house him in the community. She says that’s just another example of the need for outside services necessary for patients with mental health challenges.