The family of a Winnipeg senior is calling for changes after they say she was left waiting for over a week on a stretcher in a hospital emergency room.

After a fall in her home left her unable to move around, Helen Gorlick was brought to the Grace Hospital by ambulance on Oct. 17.

The 89-year-old was taken to the ER, where she waited about 18 hours to be seen by a doctor and a further eight days before she was transferred to Misericordia Health Centre for rehabilitation, her family said.

During that time, Gorlick was confined to her stretcher, unable to get up or use the bathroom on her own. A curtain served as her only privacy during most of her stay, said the family.