Nunavut health dept. says moving ahead with external review
Nunavut's health department says it has begun preparing for an external, independent review into how the government handled complaints about a nurse in Cape Dorset.
Former health minister Monica Ell announced the review in the legislature on Nov. 6, 2014, amid debate over a CBC News investigation looking into how officials promoted Debbie McKeown, despite about 20 complaints against her, including one about her refusal to see an ill three-month old boy who later died.
- IN DEPTH: What a Cape Dorset baby’s death reveals about Nunavut’s health care
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Five weeks after Ell's announcement, the Department of Health says it is now coming up with the terms of reference for the review.
In a recent newsletter from the Registered Nurses Association of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, McKeown admitted to many of the allegations against her.
A health department spokesperson says once the terms of reference are completed, the department will release more details about how the external review will unfold and when it will be completed.
It's also expected the government will announce who will do the independent review.
Whistleblower says career is 'totally destroyed'
Gwen Slade, who worked as a casual nurse in the Cape Dorset health centre up until February 2012, was a prominent figure in the case against McKeown.
After filing a workplace grievance accusing McKeown of harassment and three formal complaints to the nurses union, Slade says she was mistreated and blacklisted by Nunavut health officials.
As a result, Slade says speaking out about the wrongdoings has been "terrifying."
"Thirty-eight years of an unblemished record and this motley crew has totally, totally destroyed it," says Slade.
"I'll never trust this profession again."
Some of Slade's friends, including Elyse Van Shaik, who worked as the director of health programs for the southern Baffin region, have created an Indie-go-go crowdsourcing campaign on her behalf.
They're hoping to raise $100,000 to help Slade, who says she is suffering financially and has been unable to pay the mortgage on her farm, which she's at risk of losing.
