Caregiver calls for ‘culture change’ in nursing after Indigenous man’s death – CBC

Sep 26, 2023

Story of Keegan Combes’s neglect at B.C. hospital fuels nursing college’s anti-racism work

It’s been eight years since Keegan Combes died of accidental methanol poisoning after being neglected by staff at a B.C. hospital.

But it’s only recently that hard truths about the bias and stereotypes that contributed to his death have been publicly acknowledged, and his story is now a crucial piece in the fight to dismantle anti-Indigenous racism in the nursing profession, according to B.C.’s regulator for nurses.

Lab tests performed shortly after the 29-year-old developmentally disabled Skwah First Nation man arrived at Chilliwack General Hospital showed clear signs of what was causing his vomiting, slumped posture and incoherent speech, according to a report from the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA).

But instead of taking action that could have saved his life, the nurses and other professionals who saw Combes in September 2015 left him unattended and restrained to his bed for much of the night, and failed to check his vital signs for at least 6.5 hours, the report says.

Read More: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-keegan-combes-death-nursing-college-1.6970623