A St. Catharines woman recently discharged from hospital after contracting C. difficile has complained about "disgusting" conditions in her room at St. Catharines General Hospital, alleging her quarters were not cleaned for weeks at a time.

Adorelle Harrison-Royer, a cancer patient, contracted the C. difficile superbug during her stay. She says the room she stayed in was filthy, and claims that streaks of dried human excrement had crusted to the bottom of a commode next to her bed.

"It was hell. I felt so lonely," Royer said.

A photo taken by family of a St. Catharines woman who contracted C. difficile at St. Catharines Hospital shows a dirty commode in the patient's hospital room. (Courtesy Michelle Harrisson)

"The most disgusting of all this was that you had your toilet right there, your bed right here, and they would bring you your food," she said, her voice breaking with emotion. "Try and eat it now!"

Royer's sister snapped the photos of what she claimed to be dried feces left on a commode that was not cleaned for two weeks. She said that after getting no help from hospital staff, she decided to clean the room for herself.

'Full responsibility'

Dr. Sue Matthews, the head of the Niagara Health System, said the network was ready to take full responsibility if there was a lapse in housekeeping. She added that all housekeeping procedures in light of the C. difficile outbreak were being reviewed.

"If there was anything that was not cleaned we take full responsibility for that," she said.

The spread of the bacteria has been connected to at least 30 deaths in the region.

Hospital workers unions said the province needs to hire more cleaning staff to do a proper job.

For the time being, St. Catharines General has hired more housekeeping staff, and Matthews said the extra workers could be kept on full-time.

But Royer doesn't find that very comforting. She is still taking pain medication weeks since her release from hospital. Although she requires further treatment for her illness, she said she is loath to go back.

"To me, it was abuse," she said. "It felt like abuse. There was no need for that."

With files from the CBC's Jeff Semple