A coroner is looking into the death of a 1-month-old twin, and the second twin has been sent to Winnipeg
A family in Sanirajak, Nunavut, is sad because their one-month-old died because they had to wait too long to get medical care.
Rita Javagiaq gave birth to twin boys on January 26. A few weeks later, she took them home with her. The twins’ father, Jamie Akearok, said that they called the Sanirajak health center between 10 p.m. and midnight on February 23 because one of the twins was having trouble breathing.
He told them that their call had been sent to Iqaluit and that the local health center would call them back.
They waited for that call all night, but it never came.
He said that the next morning at 9 a.m., when the local health center opened, they called and were told to wait again. Akearok said that his wife didn’t listen to this advice and went to the health center with the baby anyway. Staff did CPR when she got there, but Akearok said it was too late to save the baby’s life.
On the morning of February 24, Josiah Jeremy Jamiesie Akearok died.
Josiah’s twin brother, who started having the same breathing problems, has been taken to Winnipeg.
Akearok said that the people who were supposed to help them should be looked into.
“We asked for help. We wanted it, “he said.
He said that it hurt even more when they took his baby’s body away before he could spend time with him.
He said, “They took the little time I had with him.”
The death is being looked into by the Nunavut coroner.
Akearok said that his partner is in Winnipeg with their second child, but he has six other kids at home and can’t leave them to go help her.
He said that the health department needs to help and support her.
Health department respond
The health minister, John Main, told CBC that his department is looking into how the person died.
He said that calls to health centers are sometimes sent to another town when health workers need a break.
“It’s a rule that’s been put in place. I don’t think it happens all the time, but it does when there aren’t enough people working or when people need a break between calls,” he said.
Main said he didn’t know why the health center wouldn’t call the family back until the morning.
“This kind of detailed information is exactly what would be looked at in our internal review,” he said.
He said that his department is looking into what help it can give to Sanirajak. He also said that his staff and community leaders have met in the area to talk about how to “work together and heal” after what happened.
Main said, “Everything is on the table” to help them out.
He said that he, his staff, and the whole community send their “heartfelt condolences.”
He told them, “We know how hard it is to lose a loved one, and we want them to know that we’re taking this very seriously.”
“They are in our thoughts, and we are looking for ways to help them.”