by Jeff Colbourne
Northern News Services

RANKIN INLET (Sep 01/97) - Rankin Inlet hamlet councillor Hunter Tootoo is among Keewatin resident worried about the loss of the services of the Northern Medical Unit.

"My wife is chronically ill with rheumatic arthritis. She sees the internal medicine specialist when she comes up here," he said last week.

"She's got an appointment in October to see a rheumatologist in Winnipeg. We don't know what's going to happen with that. Maybe she'll be sent somewhere else, who knows?"

Many Keewatin residents are in the same boat as Tootoo and his wife. It's because they won't know who will be providing medical services to their community on. Oct. 1.

The NMU, has been in the region for about 30 years.

"These people we've dealt with in the past, the NMU know the history, know her case and for sure every other case in the Keewatin," said Tootoo.

Tootoo said he isn't happy with the way Ng and the Kitikmeot Regional Health Board have gone about making changes to medical services. He said it was done without proper consultation with the community.

He's also not pleased with the way the board has made what he says are nasty and incorrect allegations about the NMU via an open letter to council.

"They were making some allegations that weren't very complimenting to the practitioners," he said.