Janitors at Manitoba medical centre double as X-ray technicians

Canadians scratched their heads when a B.C. Tim Hortons was uses as an emergency room, but now reports of janitors operating an X-ray machine are provoking outrage about the state of First Nations medical centres.

Patients requiring X-rays in Manitoba's Manto Sipi Cree Nation are in the hands of underqualified custodial staffers.

Michael Yellowback, chief of the community, recently underwent an X-ray of his own.

"The doctor did the examination, the nurse took blood and gave an EKG, and then the janitor took my X-ray," he said in a Winnipeg Free Press story.

"I don't mean to laugh, but it's the kind of treatment we get. What does this show you about the state of health care on First Nations?"

Various area residents, along with the janitors, have received training to provide a limited set of X-ray services.

Yellowback believes this is just one example of how the federal and provincial governments continue to fail the residents of northern Manitoba's First Nations.

"This would never be an acceptable practice in Winnipeg," said Yellowback in a Canoe story. "We are citizens of Manitoba as well. We also need adequate health care. Too many times our people have to suffer or even die to get the treatment they so desire."

In order to meet the medical needs of the residents, Yellowback and a collection of northern chiefs are preparing to open a medical centre with five doctors on staff. The facility is due to open this summer, but Yellowback and his colleagues remain distraught, calling for an inquiry into the state of First Nations medical centres.

Manitoba Health Minister Theresa Oswald plans to enlist the help of the federal government to investigate the situation.

"It's bizarre to hear such a thing, to be sure," she said in the Canoe story. "Definitely people with training and credentials would [normally] operate such equipment."

(Photo credit: Getty)