A Laval mother has filed a complaint with the McGill University Health Centre ombudsman; she said she and her daughter waited 10 hours to receive care at the Children’s hospital after the latter suffered a concussion.

Far too long for a head injury, in Judy Schafer’s opinion.

Her 12-year-old daughter, Alexandra Floyd, fell down the stairs at Villa Maria metro, and slammed her head on the edge of a step.

“I felt like someone was punching my inner head constantly – it hurt a lot,” she explained.

The school promptly contacted Schafer and said Alexandra would need medical attention. Together, they went to the emergency room of the Montreal Children’s Hospital.

That’s where they stayed for the next ten hours.

Schafer claims hospital staff dismissed her worries, and that her daughter’s head injury should have been treated faster.

As the hours wore on, she described the build-up of frustration watching parents of children with flu-like symptoms be seen first.

“[One father] kept telling, me ‘don’t worry, don’t worry, seriously—my kid’s got a tummy ache and it won’t be long,” Schafer explained. “As the day went on, he kept saying ‘I can’t believe you’re still sitting here,’ and he got called in before.”

Alexandra said that the longer she stayed in the emergency room, the worse her symptoms became.

“It was getting worse, because there were so many kids in there yelling and screaming. It was making me dizzy. It was making my head hurt a lot more than before,” she explained.

“We realize the wait times are extremely long and apologize for the situation. This is due to the increased number of patients who are presenting with flu and viral-like symptoms,” wrote an MUHC spokesperson in a statement to CTV Montreal. “The priority of any emergency department is to care for those who are severely ill and injured first.”

Schafer said she’d understand waiting hours for the flu—but not for a head injury.

“[If] I have to wait eight hours, I get it, because it’s a sore throat. But a head trauma? No, I will not accept that,” she said.

The MUHC said the capacity of the pediatric emergency department is 220 patients per day. But with flu season in full swing, it’s receiving close to 300.

Schafer was told the Ombudsman’s report will be available in 45 days.

Meanwhile, Alexandra will be resting at home until her symptoms are gone – unable to walk her neighbor’s dogs for a small profit like she was doing just a week ago.