First Nations leaders declare state of emergency amid nursing shortage in Northern Manitoba
A state of emergency on health services has been declared by First Nations leaders in northern Manitoba.
The Keewatinohk Inniniw Okimowin Council’s (KIOC) declaration covers their 23 First Nations and comes after a two-day meeting to discuss health-related concerns.
“In Cross Lake, we had to close our nursing station. That’s one of the reasons why we’re declaring a state of emergency in health,” says Chief David Monias, interim chairperson for the KIOC, detailing the rippling effect the nursing shortage is having on the care they can provide.
Part of the Council’s proposed solution is for the province to allow the communities more control over their health care decisions.
“We can provide our own professionals, our own administrators, our own knowledge keepers to work with us,” says Dr. Barry Lavallee, CEO of Keewatinohk Inniniw Minoayawin Inc. “We’re not afraid to take over a system that will deliver care to ourselves.”
Because of the shortage of nurses, those that are there are overwhelmed as they manage as best they can.
“Right now, we are allotted sixteen nurses for clinical care in Cross Lake,” Monias said. “We currently have four that have to work 24 hours. So you’re looking at maybe two nurses staffing a nursing station for 12 hours each.”
Aside from a lack of nurses, there are additional challenges the Indigenous communities are attempting to manage, the most prevalent being discrimination.
“Pre-pandemic, we’ve always been concerned about the lack of efficient, racism-free primary care services to First Nations,” said Lavalee. “Not only in communities but also at the secondary tertiary referral sectors.”
He adds discussions are ongoing with their leaders to develop new models of primary care.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the Northern Health Region said they look forwarding to continuing its partnership with MKO and KIM.
The partnership includes several initiatives, such as a co-planning process on sustainable health-care delivery in the region, creation of a wisdom council, and ending anti-Indigenous racism in health-care.
“We understand, and we all want these solutions implemented without delay but it will take work and time to solve this very complex, multifaceted issues,” the spokesperson said.
“We are committed to working with all of our partners, especially our Indigenous communities and leadership to find and implement sustainable solutions that meet the health needs of the people we serve.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.