Death of 6-year-old boy reveals "glaring disparities" of Indigenous health care: doctors

After the sudden death of a six-year-old boy in northern Alberta, Global News began looking into what kinds of health-care options exist on the province's 45 First Nations.

Six-year-old Harlen Laboucan started vomiting during the early morning of Nov. 13, 2020. His father called The Little Red River Cree Nation Fox Lake nursing station, but each time, the father said he was told to call back or wait until the clinic opened. 45 minutes after they arrived at the clinic, Harlen died.

Conroy Sewepagaham, the Chief of Little Red River Cree Nation said that since Harlen’s death, community members have started coming forward with their own stories about dealing with the health-care system. It’s revealing a stark gap in care, he said.

Health care for First Nations in Canada has long been seen as substandard compared with the rest of the country. With higher infant mortality, lower longevity and lack of access to modern healthcare facilities and technologies, successive governments have failed to close the gap between the healthcare received in First Nations communities and other parts of Canada.

Jessica Robb shares more on what happened to six-year-old Harlen and what our investigation found.

For more info, please go to https://globalnews.ca/news/7712701/harlen-laboucan-indigenous-health-care/

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