Quebec’s order of nurses looking to combat systemic racism in health care

Quebec’s order of nurses says it wants to address systemic racism in health care – specifically with Indigenous communities.

The order says it wants to foster nursing practices that promote humility, safety and promote partnership and trust.

This is coming a year after the death of Joyce Echaquan, who filmed her last moments as nurses made disparaging remarks about her at a hospital in Joliette, Que.

“An expression of will to address systemic racism is definitely a good thing,” said medical malpractice lawyer Patrick Martin-Menard. “Now whether what is being proposed by the order is going to be addressed as the root cause is something else.”

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The order says it’s committed to establishing a working group that includes Indigenous voices to monitor individual and systemic racism.

Some of the proposals are to diversify its committees, ask the professional examination committee to evaluate members’ level of cultural safety knowledge and more training for staff.

“You can give as much sensitivity training as you want,” said Martin-Menard. “The fact remains that the health-care system has some deeply rooted prejudices and attitudes towards certain types or profiles of clients.”

Last month, coroner Gehane Kamel said Echaquan, an Atikamekw mother of seven, would likely still be alive if she were a white woman and that systemic racism “undeniably” contributed to her death. Kamel’s report found that her demise was accidental, but avoidable.

The coroner concluded Echaquan’s initial diagnosis was based on prejudice and she wasn’t properly monitored before finally being transferred to intensive care. Echaquan died of a pulmonary edema that was linked to a rare heart condition.

In a statement to CityNews, the president of Quebec’s order of nurses, Luc Mathieu, says the group is “committed to making its contribution to guarantee to all Indigenous people, without any discrimination, the right of equitable access to all social and health services, as well as the right to enjoy the best possible physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health.

“It is essential that nurses question their own unconscious prejudices and biases in order to provide culturally safe care.”

Community members say it’s time the Quebec government acknowledges systemic racism and adopt Joyce’s Principle, which aims to guarantee Indigenous people the right of equitable access to all social and health services free of discrimination.

“I look at it as a willingness, but I don’t think it’s enough,” said Mary Hannaberg, vice-president of Quebec Native Women. “It doesn’t go far enough. I think there needs to be an overview of the practices and also of the policies.

READ MORE: Coroner urges Quebec to recognize systemic racism as report into Joyce Echaquan’s death released

“Let’s put all the semantics aside and let’s get down to the root of the things and how do we make relationships better, and how do we go on from here?

“We need to put in practices that are going to safeguard the rights of Indigenous people as much as any other citizen that goes to health care. They need to be giving the same dignity of respect and the same degree of care and the guidelines need to be implemented.”

—With files from The Canadian Press.