Photo appearing to show elder on hospital floor in Thunder Bay, Ont., raises concerns about Indigenous care

[admin]

A photo that appears to show an Indigenous elder lying in the hallway of a Thunder Bay, Ont., hospital is raising concerns about the region's health-care system and treatment of Indigenous patients.

A copy of the image, which was posted online earlier this month but has since been removed, has been obtained by CBC News. The family of the patient involved has asked for privacy as they focus on caring for their loved one. CBC News has chosen not to include the photo in this story out of respect for the family.

CBC News cannot independently verify what happened to the patient. The Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre (TBRHSC) "is unable to comment on patient-specific situations due to patient privacy legislation," says an emailed statement from spokesperson Marcello Bernardo.

Earlier this month, the Canadian Medical Association issued a public apology for harms to First Nations, Inuit and Métis patients and health-care providers across the country.

"Indigenous people enter the health-care system expecting the worst, and I think that's sort of what this [Thunder Bay] case illustrates, unfortunately," said Dr. Alexa Lesperance, an Anishinaabe family physician and vice-president of the Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada.

"I think of how many stories similar to this go uncaptured because of shame or stigma or because of violence that Indigenous people experience on the daily."

READ MORE
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder- ... -1.7335095