Winnipeg Chief Waited 13 Hours on Gurney at Grace Hospital for Kidney Stone Care

Little Grand Rapids First Nation Chief Clinton Keeper waited approximately 13 hours on a gurney in a hallway at Grace Hospital in Winnipeg on June 22 after complications from a kidney stone, Cbc reported. Keeper, a cancer survivor, had been assessed, hospitalized and discharged earlier that day before his condition worsened and he returned by ambulance.

Staff offered only regular-strength Tylenol for pain during the wait, according to Keeper.

His urinary drainage device leaked onto the bedding, and he requested help several times before his family arrived, the Southern Chiefs' Organization said. Grand Chief Jerry Daniels called for urgent action to address barriers First Nations people face in emergency medical care in Manitoba and across Canada.

Daniels stated that First Nations people in Manitoba have a life expectancy 11 years shorter than other people in the province.

A data report conducted on behalf of Shared Health found Indigenous people face longer wait times in Manitoba hospital emergency rooms and are more likely to leave without receiving care, Cbc reported. The Southern Chiefs' Organization, which represents more than 92,000 people across 33 southern Manitoba First Nations, called on the Manitoba government to work with First Nations to identify and address health-care issues.

The organization wants First Nations patient navigators stationed 24/7 at all Manitoba hospitals and plans to create new health advocate positions to help patients traveling for medical care.

It also called on federal and provincial governments to support First Nations-led transformation of health-care systems. Manitoba Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara confirmed speaking with Chief Keeper but declined to comment on a specific patient's care. Grace Hospital chief operating officer Rachel Ferguson reached out to Keeper to discuss the incident, a Manitoba government spokesperson said.