Wiping away tears, a First Nations mother pleaded for answers Wednesday after saying her seven-month-old child had suffered an injury requiring a leg cast while a patient at a Saskatchewan hospital.
Teelah Soosay told a Saskatoon news conference that she went to the hospital last week to visit her son, Tobias, only to discover he had a full leg cast. She says a doctor told her he’d been taken for an X-ray after staff noticed he was in pain, at which point they determined his right upper leg bone from him had a “slight” break.
“I asked how — they wouldn’t give me an answer,” Soosay said.
The Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, which represents 74 nations in the Prairie province, is calling for an investigation into why the family wasn’t given answers as to what happened to their child.
The child had been a patient at the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital in Saskatoon since he was born prematurely last September.
Soosay, who’d visited her son three days earlier, was not informed about an incident or a cast, the FSIN says, and the family has yet to get any answers about what happened.
In an email, the Saskatchewan Health Authority said it could not provide any information due to patient privacy concerns. The spokesperson refused to say whether or not an investigation had been opened.
“We understand that some First Nations and Métis people do not feel comfortable accessing care or bringing up complaints they may have about their health-care experience,” the email said.
“We are committed to improving the health-care experience of our First Nations and Métis patients, clients and residents, and we have publicly committed to creating concrete and sustainable actions for change through our commitment to Truth and Reconciliation.”
In the release, Rosannah Moosomin, a Jordan’s Principle co-ordinator with the Mosquito, Grizzly Bear’s Head, Lean Man First Nations called the matter “disheartening.”
“There is clearly a lack of communication within the staff of the Jim Pattison children’s hospital.”
JOIN THE CONVERSATION
Anyone can read Conversations, but to contribute, you should be a registered Torstar account holder. If you do not yet have a Torstar account, you can create one now (it is free)