Tataskweyak Cree Nation man who alleges doctor mistook appendicitis for hangover says he felt 'worthless'

Systemic discrimination is a lingering issue in Manitoba's health-care system, First Nations leaders in Manitoba say, after a Cree man's lawsuit alleging a doctor assumed what turned out to be appendicitis was symptoms of a hangover.

Justin Flett, 46, says he went to the emergency room at St. Anthony's General Hospital in The Pas in January 2023 after experiencing sharp abdominal pain and nausea, but a doctor told him that the hospital didn't provide treatment for hangovers and discharged him without a diagnosis.

"I knew there was something seriously wrong with me, and this doctor just didn't seem to want to take me seriously or help me," Flett said in a statement read aloud by his lawyer, Vilko Zbogar, at a Tuesday news conference.

"In that moment, I just felt worthless, [but] I knew I still needed to get help."

Flett is a Cree father of six from the Tataskweyak Cree Nation in northern Manitoba. He lives in Winnipeg but was visiting his elderly mother in The Pas in January 2023.

With nowhere else to go for medical treatment in The Pas, Flett says he took an 11-hour bus trip from the northern Manitoba town to Winnipeg, where his appendix burst as he waited for a hospital transfer for emergency surgery.

"Seven Oaks [General Hospital] should have made sure I got the life-saving surgery I needed right away, instead of letting my appendix rupture while I waited for them to arrange a transfer," Flett wrote in his statement.

Those details are included in a lawsuit Flett filed against the doctor in The Pas, the Northern Regional Health Authority and the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority last month, alleging each had breached their duty of care to him.

None of the allegations have been proven in court, and statements of defence have yet to be filed.

Flett said he eventually underwent an appendectomy 37 hours after he initially sought treatment in The Pas, but his condition worsened during that time. He later developed a chronic bowel condition that has left him unable to work, he says.

"I can no longer provide for my family and that makes me feel awful," Flett said.

He acknowledged his experience is not unique, but he wanted to speak out about it because "it shouldn't be happening."

"I don't think that what happened to me was right. The doctor in The Pas should have taken me seriously and properly diagnosed and treated me — not assumed that I was hung over."

'Tragic and persistent reality'

Garrison Settee, grand chief of Manitoba Keewatinowi Okimakanak — an organization that represents 26 First Nations in northern Manitoba — said he stands with Flett in an effort to confront discrimination against Indigenous people in Manitoba's health-care system.

"He has been forced to undergo trauma and pain because of who he is and where he's from. This is not the kind of system that our people should be subject to," Settee said at the news conference, organized by the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs.

Flett's experience reflects what First Nations people in northern Manitoba have been dealing with for "a very long time," Settee said.

"We have to protect our people from this kind of treatment because it's not acceptable," he said. "Somebody has to stop it, and it begins here."

He hopes Flett's courage in sharing his experience will encourage others to do the same.

Willie Moore, the Assembly of First Nations regional chief representing Manitoba, said Flett's ordeal represents a "tragic and persistent reality."

Systemic racism puts First Nations lives at risk, said Moore, and Flett's case should spark "further awareness to the ongoing discrimination our people face in health care."

"Case after case, inquest after inquest, we are still here."

'Heartbreaking and unacceptable': minister

Betsy Kennedy, acting grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, said what happened to Flett is "deeply troubling and unacceptable."

"His experience is the grim reminder of the systemic racism and inequalities our people continue to face in accessing health care in this province," she said.

"No one should have to fear for their life because of the colour of their skin or their place of residence."

Both the Winnipeg and Northern health authorities declined to comment as Flett's lawsuit is before the court.

Manitoba Health Minister Uzoma Asagwara described Flett's story as "heartbreaking and unacceptable."

In an emailed statement, they said they cannot comment on an ongoing lawsuit, but that the NDP government is committed to addressing anti-Indigenous racism "in all forms."

First Nations man suing 2 health authorities, ER doctor accusing them of racism

16 hours ago

Duration 2:05

An Indigenous man is suing two health authorities and an emergency doctor, accusing them of racism. Justin Flett went to the hospital in the Pas with acute abdominal pain two years ago. Instead of getting treatment, Flett says he was dismissed as having a hangover.