Brian Sinclair, a 45-year-old double amputee with a speech problem, was found dead in his wheelchair after spending 34 hours in the Health Science Center’s emergency waiting room, without receiving treatment on September 2008. His death could’ve been easily prevented had he received a simple catheter change and antibiotics. Read more: http://www.globalwinnipeg.com/health/Winnipeg+police+launch+criminal+probe+into+death+waited+hours/3680317/story.html
Mr. Sinclair’s tragic death is one that calls attention to a bigger problem in the Canadian healthcare system, the disparity of how it is distributed. The Government of Canada stated that they are committed to provide effective programming; still the average health status of First Nation Peoples in Canada is still lower than the remainder of the population. (Curtis, 2007)
The inequalities in health between Canadians should be seen in a larger context of inequality of the standard of living that stems from the historical relation between the First Nations People and the nation-state. (Adelson, 2005) The Canadian Diabetes Association stated Aboriginal people are three times more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes (Rellinger, 2010). The disproportional increase of diabetes with First Nations People must be seen in contemporary context; poverty, access to resources, cultural opinion of groceries etc. It is not just genetics or an inherent Aboriginal trait. (Adelson, 2005) Diabetes is often the cause for the need for amputation (“Canadian Diabetes Association”, 2010) a physical disability that for the most part could’ve been prevented had it received proper care.
How can Canada's claim to be a fair and enlightened society (“the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples”, 1996) be achieved through social policies when those implementing the policies may have a subconscious bias towards First Nations People? Stereo typing Mr. Sinclair as homeless, who was just looking for warmth within the hospital or other preconceptions of him are possibilities as to why he did not receive the proper quality of care. “What we really have here is a combination of a lot of people who made various assumptions that led to a tragic end,” said Jan Currie, the authority’s chief nursing officer (Puxley, 2009)
We need to examine holistically the causes of health problems within the First Nations community, and how to alleviate the disparities of quality health care within Canada.
Holly L
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Mr. Sinclair's death is absolutely devastating. I can't believe that the nurses refused to check on him stating that they were "too busy." Sinclair's death is tragic and I hope this makes all healthcare workers take all concerns made seriously.
ReplyDeleteThe link you posted has an error but I found a different site discussing Sinclair's death at http://winnipeg.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20080923/wpg_brian_sinclair_erdeath_092308/20080923/?hub=WinnipegHome
Jessica N.
Mr. Sinclair's death is a story that is very sad. By the workers saying that they were to busy or that they were occupied with something else may have been the truth. If there were workers standing around chatting with each other about the weekend when they could plainly see that Mr. Sinclair was having trouble then I would be more concerned about our medical units. But, since everyone was working I do not think it was their fault that he passed away. But the security guard on the other hand. WOW. It makes me mad that he would shrug it off and just there is too much paper work involved. I wonder how he would feel if he was dieing and a security guard said that he wasn't going to get involved because of paper work. I think that this issue in 2008 has made heath care workers realize that everything especially in a heath zone should be and needs to be taken seriously. Good post! -Brittany L
ReplyDeleteI can't believe how the tragedy of Mr. Sinclair's death was not avoided, as it so easily could have been! This is a shocking story. I also read an article awhile back that had to do with Aboriginal people not getting the proper treatments and eventually leading to amputation, which is tragic!
ReplyDeleteI also found some interesting stuff online while looking more into this: "Aboriginal Canadians have been disproportionately affected by certain chronic illness. According to the Aboriginal Peoples Survey (2001), nearly half (45%) of the Aboriginal population 15 years and older reported having one or more chronic condition. Further, the most commonly reported chronic conditions among Aboriginal Canadians 15 years of age and older are arthritis (19.3%), high blood pressure (12%), asthma (11.6%), stomach problems (10.2%), diabetes (7%) and cardiovascular disease (6.5%) (Statistics Canada, 2003). Many of these chronic diseases have significantly higher prevalence among the Aboriginal populations compared to the general Canadian population. "
I found this at: http://www.calgaryhealthregion.ca/programs/diversity/diversity_resources/health_div_pops/aboriginal.htm#Aboriginal_Statistics
Interesting subject, Holly.
Marina R
As soon as I saw the title of your post I was compelled to read it. Although Mr. Sinclair's death was a profound tragedy, I think that it opened a lot of eyes in regards to the serious issues that exist in our health system and our society in general. When a tragedy like this happens, people are no longer able to deny the fact that there is something incredibly wrong with how Aboriginal people are being treated in our society. Hopefully the publicized nature of this terrible event will ensure that this type of abuse will never be allowed to happen again. The fact that some people never really paid attention until a life was lost is a very sad thought. I cannot imagine the physical and emotional pain that Mr. Sinclair must have experienced during his final hours. Very sad!
ReplyDeleteCrystal M.
Type 2 Diabetes is a real problem in the Aboriginal population. One of my friend who is aboriginal is 20 and sufferes from Type 2 Diabetes, he younger brother realised that he was at risk of developing the disease. He works out, and eats healthy and tries to do anything in his power to hold off the disease.
ReplyDeleteJordan