“A flight should have been the first choice. You don't send a heart patient on a 10 hour bus ride,” said Neckoway. “He had asked for an escort which was subsequently denied. He got on bus and he never made it," she said. winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/heart-patient-…
Donkey's family said he recently had stents put in his heart. They say he was called by the doctor for a follow up appointment at St. Boniface Hospital, but wasn't offered a flight to get there.
About a week before Donkey's trip, niece Ramona Neckoway said she told health care workers at Thompson General Hospital Donkey he should not be alone, that his first language was not English and he had a hard time hearing.
“We are looking into the specifics of this case to determine how service delivery could be improved,” said a spokesperson for Indigenous Services Canada, the federal dept responsible.
Flights are approved based on recommendations from nurses or doctors, the spokesperson said.
Flights are approved based on recommendations from nurses or doctors, the spokesperson said.
Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation Chief Marcel Moody said cancer patients and other First Nations people are being forced to take long bus rides for medical help.
“There's incidents like this happening on a weekly basis,” he said.
“There's incidents like this happening on a weekly basis,” he said.
“He was the most gentle and humble human being,” said his niece Neckoway.
“We don't even know who is saying no in the first place, making those decisions,” she said.
winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/mobile/heart-p…
“We don't even know who is saying no in the first place, making those decisions,” she said.
winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/mobile/heart-p…
Indigenous Services Canada said based on the most cost effective mode of travel the bus is the normal mode of transportation, taking the client's medical condition into consideration.
