Silas Arngna’naaq, a Baker Lake man, says his family doesn’t trust Nunavut’s Health Department after two family members had to be medevaced to Winnipeg this year without a medical escort. His late wife Lucy spent six days alone after she was told her escort could not travel with her because there was not enough room on the medevac plane. (Photo courtesy of Silas Arngna’naaq)
Baker Lake family upset after medical travellers left without escorts for days
Lucy Arngna’naaq was left alone in a Winnipeg hospital for six days, says her husband
A Baker Lake man says his family no longer trusts Nunavut’s Health Department after problems with the medevac flight system left two family members alone for several days in a Winnipeg hospital in separate incidents.
“Not being able to get on a medevac flight as an escort has become a problem,” Silas Arngna’naaq said in an interview Dec. 5.
Arngna’naaq described two separate incidents this year in which individual family members were unable to have medical escorts accompany them on their medevac flights south.
He said that on Aug. 23 — a Saturday— his now deceased wife Lucy Arngna’naaq was booked to be medevaced from Baker Lake to Winnipeg for hospital care.
But she was told there was no room on the medevac flight for her medical escort and that the escort would have to take a commercial flight instead. The next available flight wasn’t until three days later, on the following Tuesday.
But early Monday evening, they learned health authorities in Winnipeg had decided the family’s chosen medical escort would not be allowed to meet Lucy Arngna’naaq there and they would need to find a replacement escort.
Failing to do so, 68-year-old Silas Arngna’naaq — who has his own health issues — decided to make the trip himself.
With flights to Winnipeg fully booked until Thursday evening, he arrived in Winnipeg late that night and saw his wife for the first time Friday morning. By that time, she had been without a medical escort for six days.
Due to chronic health problems, Lucy Arngna’naaq had made that trip many times before. This was the first time, however, a medical escort wasn’t able to travel with her.
Silas Arngna’naaq’s brother, Kenneth Arngna’naaq, had a similar experience in September.
In that instance, Kenneth Arngna’naaq was able to get on the medevac plane. His medical escort wasn’t able, though, and needed three days to find a commercial flight, leaving Kenneth Arngna’naaq alone in Winnipeg for three days.
“This situation has caused a ripple in our relationships with the Health Department,” said Silas Arngna’naaq.
Nunatsiaq News requested an interview with department officials but was told neither Health Minister Janet Pitsiulaaq Brewster nor deputy minister Megan Hunt or anyone else working with Nunavut’s medevac program were available.
Health Department spokesperson Charmaine Deogracias said the department does not comment on individual cases.
“The standard practice remains for escorts to travel with the patient,” Deogracias said in an email Friday.
“However, in exceptional situations, such as when a patient is critically ill, multiple patients are on the same flight, or an escort is not immediately available, the escort may follow on a commercial flight.”
In what Deogracias called those “rare” circumstances, “every effort is made to maintain continuity of care and support for patients.”
“Medical travel staff and health care providers co-ordinate to ensure patients are accompanied through key steps of their travel and care, even when an escort is not present.”
She said medical boarding facilities do not have staff available to fill the role of a medical escort.
“Patients and families are encouraged to contact the Office of Patient Relations for any concerns, issues, or assistance they may require during medical travel,” Deogracias said.
Monopoly,no accountability,Airline, and GN no comment as usual, this is just the start, of take it or leave it, we have to cut costs, to increase our bottom line, and we need a bailout, like during Covid.where are our leaders.
why is there medical escorts anyways? Inuit are picked up at the airport and taken to a boarding home in the south. and from the boarding home to the appointment. i can see it for some elderly patients but not for everyone. I see pictures on facebook where someone has an appt in the south and takes an escort. and they both end up attending a hockey game. and they both speak english. so whats up with that?
Must be nice to live in an area where you have family that can help, nurses and doctors are busy, escort help out the patients, typical micro aggression mention going to hockey games. When was the last time you were in a hospital with a serious illness and have your family or friends visit or help you?
Could say the same about southerners living in nunavut. Most have no families up here to help so theyre on their own with little support. It isnt easy but we manage. Should the Gn start paying for their families to come up to help out as escorts when we need it?
Typical Nunavummiut assumption that Southerners get amazing healthcare. Typical wait times to be seen in an Emergency Room in the provinces is currently averaging 5-6 hours. You can even go online and check for some provinces, for example the current estimated ER wait time at Sunnybrook Hospital in Ontario is 6 hours and 11 minutes, or at Misericordia in Alberta it’s 7 hours and 16 minutes.
When’s the last time you waited 7 hours to be seen at a Nunavut Health Centre?
When’s the last time you had to drive yourself 2 hours to a hospital for a surgery and then drive yourself home the next day while paying for transportation and accommodations yourself because it’s not covered?
Oh ima’s comments are routinely like this, reactive, simplistic, reductive and ignorant.
Likely because the worse thing than being sick is being sick and alone. Guess when you’re sick you should just have a terrible quality of life? This isn’t a prison sentence……if you are mad about people on medical travel going to a hockey game in the south, lobby your MLA to have adequate health care in the community so they cant go to a hockey game.
Some medical procedures require anesthesia the escort make sure the the patient makes it back to the boarding home.
It’s best to make a complaint to patient relations.
I live in Sanikiluaq, our local back up medical travel agent is BS! Like literally takes her personal problems to work, she takes her anger out on anyone who calls and yells at them. So it’s best to make a complaint to medical travel.
To Raymond Lido’s comment.
Just because the person can speak English it doesn’t mean they don’t need an escort, some
People need an escort for a support with their physical health problems like they need someone to assist them plus they need someone to stroll them into hospitals if they need to use a wheelchair because KIS or KIC nurse can’t be there 24/7 to assist them, having to check in yet needs to be on a wheelchair, that’s why they need an escort.
I can understand that some people need physical assistance because of mobility issues, even an interpreter or a guardian if the patient is a child; but the ‘medical escort’ position shouldn’t be a default position. If it isn’t NEEDED, then the patient should go alone.
Boy o boy people up here like to trash elders what next pick on kids.
I think it’s safe to say life is always better with an escort!
The health centre has no control over whether or not Keewatin Air allows the escort on the plane or not. The health centre always advocates for an escort to go with them. You need to take this up with the pilots and the flight medics on Keewatin Air. As someone who has worked on medivacs, if they deem that the patient is too critically ill, yes they will refuse the escort on the plane because they need SPACE to work on your loved one. The plane is a tiny mobile ICU room in the air.
This literally has nothing to do with the health centre staff. Write a complaint to Keewatin.
Perhaps if Nunavut government can afford a hospital like in the south all equip
Perhaps Nunavut patients would not have to travel as much to southern hospitals like they do
Why are southern people always crying about the services Inuit get
Here is a truth. Having an escort is costing.
Millions of dollars . That money is given to the GN. By the federal government. That program like so many.Has no oversight.
The GN is administering the program. And the people they have hired. Are well incompetent. So the broken escort system. Continues to waste money. Year after year.
That wasted money. Needs to be spent . on better health care here ion Nunavut