NWT report attacks ‘systemic racism’ in health care: minister

YELLOWKNIFE — A Northwest Territories cabinet minister says recommendations from an investigation into an elder’s death will help address systemic racism in health-care delivery.

“The author of this report is suggesting we have a systemic problem and I agree with her,” Health Minister Glen Abernethy said Wednesday. “I’ve made a commitment to the people of the Northwest Territories that we’re going to work to address this systemic racism.”

Abernethy was commenting on an investigation report recently completed into the death of Hugh Papik, a 67-year-old elder from Aklavik in the northeast corner of the territory. 

Papik suffered a stroke Aug. 3. Staff at his care home called his daughter and told her to pick him up because he was drunk.

Papik had a history of heart problems but none of drinking. Despite that, staff at the local health centre didn’t perform a physical exam.

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By the time his niece persuaded medical staff to fly Papik to hospital in Yellowknife, it was too late. He was eventually declared brain dead and removed from life support.

“He was a happy-go-lucky person, always joking, always laughing,” his niece Maggie recalled at the time. 

“He never liked to see anybody sad and down and out. He’d probably give you the shirt off his back if you needed it.”

Although the investigation hasn’t been released, the 16 recommendations from it have been.

Four deal with relations between indigenous people and health-care professionals.

“The last four recommendations are absolutely critical,” Abernethy said. “That’s where we’re talking about breaking down some of the systemic racism.”

Those recommendations concern recruiting indigenous health-care workers and first responders, cultural training for non-indigenous staff, recruiting elders to work in the system and incorporating indigenous healing practices. Abernethy said those have all been adopted.

About half the population of the N.W.T. is aboriginal. Aklavik is almost entirely Inuvialuit.

The report adds the N.W.T. should improve training for home support workers to recognize the signs of stroke and look for ways to ensure oversight of those workers by trained nurses. It also suggests clear standards of practice be developed for workers to follow.

Abernethy acknowledged the territory has a patchwork of practices and standards.

“Up until recently, we had eight health and social services authorities with their own management structures,” he said. “There weren’t really territorial standards or practices in place.

“We’ve moved to a single authority and this is one of the exact reasons we’ve done so. We want to make sure all residents of the Northwest Territories are receiving the same quality of services.”

The territorial government adopted all but two of the 16 recommendations. Abernethy said it will not establish an ambulance service in Aklavik or create a stroke centre at Stanton Regional Hospital in Yellowknife, the N.W.T’s only full hospital.

— By Bob Weber in Edmonton. Follow @row1960 on Twitter

The Canadian Press