Petition seeking external investigation into baby's death
Whistle-blowing nurse says truth about health leadership needs to come out
Stewart Burnett
Northern News Services
Friday, June 5, 2015
KINNGAIT/CAPE DORSET
The nurse who blew the whistle on Cape Dorset baby Makibi Akesuk Timilak's death in 2012 called South Baffin MLA David Joanasie a hero for raising her petition in the legislature.
"I'm thrilled that Mr. Joanasie is standing up for this," said Gwen Slade, who started the petition for an external investigation into Timilak's death in February.
"He's a hero. He really is. And the other MLAs who are sitting there below the glass ceiling and continually bringing this forward, they're all heroes."
A coroner concluded Timilak died from a treatable lung infection at only three months of age when, Slade alleges, a nurse at the Cape Dorset health centre told the mother not to bring the baby into the health centre.
"Makibi's death was senseless," said Slade
"It wasn't necessary. It should not have gone that way. Would he have died anyway? We all don't know that and it's a moot point because he was never seen."
Slade's online petition contains more than 1,200 signatures from people around the world, including Joanasie.
When tabling the petition, Joanasie said it demonstrates "the public concern that exists with respect to this tragic incident."
Slade said she, everyone involved and especially the family have suffered during this ordeal.
"They deserve the truth," she said.
Although the finger has been pointed at one nurse, Slade said the issue isn't about bad nurses.
"This is about bad healthcare leadership," she said.
"They allowed it, they promoted it, they encouraged it. You've got to look at the management. The bad nurses are in there for one reason and one reason only - because they can be."
Earlier this year, Nunavut Health Minister Paul Okalik announced that lawyer Katherine Peterson would do an external review into the matter.
Slade criticized this approach and suggested the result of the review will protect the government and serve to "re-victimize" the victim because a lawyer who has worked for the government of Nunavut rather than "a board of inquiry of experienced persons unknown to the GN, with no restrictions (and) prohibitions" will be conducting the review.
