Why did Brian Sinclair die an avoidable and painful death, after waiting 34 hours in a hospital emergency room? What will the inquest bring for him and other Aboriginal people the healthcare system has failed? Will the system confront recent tragedies or cover them up?
The very first APTN National News Special Report: Ignored to Death takes an in-depth look at how the health care system treats Aboriginal Peoples. Cheryl McKenzie is your host for this investigative report that originally aired during APTN National News on June 29, 2010.
The report looks further into the cases involving Brian Sinclair and Dylan Campbell which made headlines in 2008 and 2010. The Winnipeg-based Southern Chiefs Organization has compiled a list of more than 100 individuals with serious complaints about the quality of health care provided to Aboriginal Peoples in Manitoba.
Brian Sinclair, a 45-year-old man from the Sagkeeng First Nation, died a very painful death after waiting for 34 hours in the emergency room of the Winnipeg Health Sciences Centre in September of 2008. Dylan Campbell was 11 years old when his parents took him to the Health Sciences Centre for a tonsillectomy which led to unspecified complications, resulting in Dylan being in a vegetative state with his chance of recovery in question. His family is unsatisfied with the hospital’s explanation.
A five-person team comprised of APTN National News and APTN’s Investigative News unit was formed to look into a number of health care complaints after a physician who was working at the Health Sciences Centre in 2008 contacted APTN to discuss a number of ethical concerns about the way the Brian Sinclair matter was handled by the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority and provincial government officials. An interview with that physician, along with members of the Sinclair and Campbell families are featured during the 30-minute special report.
Manitoba is famous for its silence. ask the family of betty Osbourne.