Stroke dismissed as drunkenness
Care workers thought man was drunk; activist wants investigation into elder's death
Kassina Ryder
Northern News Services
Monday, August 22, 2016
AKLAVIK
An indigenous rights activist and childhood schoolmate of Hugh Papik says his death should be investigated as a homicide.
Hugh Papik died after having a massive stroke that his niece states was initially diagnosed as drunkenness. - photo courtesy of Facebook |
Papik died after suffering a stroke in Aklavik on Aug. 3.
His niece, Maggie Papik, told the Canadian Press she received a call from the elders' home where Papik lived telling her he was drunk. When Maggie arrived, she discovered him on the floor and immediately knew he'd had a stroke.
Papik repeatedly told Maggie he wasn't drunk, CP reported.
Maggie took Papik to the Aklavik Health Centre where he was again dismissed as being intoxicated.
He was eventually medevaced to Inuvik and then to Yellowknife, where he was declared brain dead.
He was taken back to Inuvik and was taken off life support. He died on Aug. 15.
Rosemarie Kuptana, former president of Inuit Tapirisat of Canada (ITC), now known as Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK), attended residential school with Papik and said she was horrified to learn how he died.
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"Did they just assume that he was drunk and was this a dereliction of duty along with racism?" Kuptana asked. "And if that is the case, then perhaps there should be a criminal investigation, at least to determine whether this, in fact, is a homicide.
"I cried and cried and cried. Why should somebody go through that much pain? He should have died with dignity surrounded by family. He didn't need to die, actually."
Papik's death is an example of how racism is impacting the territory's health care system, Kuptana said.
"I think that those kinds of incidents still happen because it seems to me that there is such a strong element of racism in the health system, and it's more apparent in some regions than in others," she said. "It makes me wonder about people who take a medical oath to save lives. Saving lives is not a selective oath, it should apply to everyone and it's very painful to see it still continuing."
Even if someone did arrive at a health centre intoxicated, health care staff are still responsible for assessing and treating patients, Kuptana added.
"This whole case raises a lot of questions," she said.
Papik's niece, Stephanie Papik, said examining the role discrimination played in her uncle's death - and finding ways to prevent it from happening in the future - is critical.
"I think it's crucial to look into what happened and also to be looking at things like adequate training for the health care practitioners to understand things like unconscious bias, that there is an implicit bias and we all have it," she said. "Unless there is education and awareness and systemic support built in place, nothing will change and this will continue to happen."
Health Minister Glen Abernethy called for an external review of the incident in an announcement on Aug. 16.
In an interview with News/North, Abernethy said while he wouldn't speak to Papik's case specifically, he was calling for a Critical Incident Investigation.
"I can't speak to Papik as a result of health privacy legislation and other things and I also want to be clear that I do have confidence in the CEO (of the NWT Health and Social Services Authority) and the standard of care provided within our system but there are clearly some broader considerations that merit an external review," he said.
"As mentioned in my statement yesterday (Aug. 16), I believe that the serious nature of the concerns expressed in the media from the family and others warrant further review though an internal investigation into this particular case."
Abernethy said new provisions under the Hospital Insurance and Health and Social Services Administration Act allows the health minister to appoint someone to investigate critical incidents.
The investigation's recommendations will be made public.
Who will conduct the investigation or when it could begin has not been determined, Abernethy said.
The territory's six regional health and social services authorities were merged to form the territorial Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Authority (THSSA). on Aug. 1.
The Northwest Territories Health and Social Services Leadership Council acts as the THSSA's management board. Abernethy said the council has already begun working on improving cultural competency.
"We've been doing some initial work to develop effective cultural competency approaches," he said.
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| 'Very disturbing issue' |
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The department has been working with experts such as Dr. Alika Lafontaine, president of the Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada and indigenous health expert Dr. Janet Smylie, as well as cultural safety researchers with the University of British Columbia.
Kuptana said ensuring cultural competency should be taken a step further, with health care workers undergoing sensitivity assessments before being hired for positions in the North.
"This is a very, very disturbing issue," she said.
Stephanie Papik also said Inuvialuit need to have key roles not only in the investigation but during the analyzing and report-writing process as well.
"I think it's really important that that internal investigation be inclusive and have Inuvialuit people a part of it because if we just have non-indigenous people evaluating it, that's also not really external, there is still that bias there," she said.
Papik said about a week before he died, her uncle spoke to her on the phone, reminiscing about his early career as a post office worker before becoming a furnace repairman, an electrician and a plumber.
"You could tell he was proud, but in a humble way," she said.
"He was not a stereotype that there is of the narrative of indigenous people in Canada. He worked hard, he contributed, he was always loving and kind and accepting."
Stephanie said Papik's accepting nature was especially important to her, as she grew up in the South.
"He was always still very accepting and loving," she said.
Papik's funeral was scheduled to take place at the Anglican Church in Aklavik on Aug. 20.
