A man from Siksika First Nation, whose wife died in Foothills hospital has filed a human rights complaint against the provincial health agency and a local hospital, alleging anti-Indigenous discrimination led to her death.
According to a complaint filed by Benedict Crow Chief, his wife, Myra Crow Chief, died in April 2022, because staff and doctors at the Strathmore District Health Services hospital failed to disclose to them that she had active abdominal bleeding.
The complaint alleges doctors knew about her condition, but she was not given medication to manage her pain and was ignored by nurses.
Crow Chief wiped away tears Thursday as he described the ordeal at a news conference on the Siksika First Nation.
Crow Chief said his wife’s last few days were filled with pain and fear.
Alberta Health Services said in a statement Thursday that it is “undertaking a full quality assurance review of the care provided, as well as examining the follow-up communication provided to the family.”
Two months before her death, Myra Crow Chief, was at Foothills hospital due to bloody stool caused by gastrointestinal bleeding.
The complaint also states the couple was reluctant to go to their local hospital when the wife woke up early on April 17, 2022, with a coughing fit that led to sudden, intense pain in her abdomen.
However, paramedics refused to take her to Foothills and took her to the Strathmore hospital, instead.
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