Saskatchewan’s Opposition leader is calling on the province to investigate the death of a mother that Carla Beck claims was caused by lacking maternal care in rural areas.
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Beck → call → areas
The NDP leader said the death of Chelsea Bear, a mother-of-five who sought maternal care for pain in Meadow Lake, was caused by a lack of available services in non-urban parts of Saskatchewan.
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who → say → Saskatchewan
Bear died while pregnant with twins, and only one of the infants survived.
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one → die → infants
On Aug. 10 while experiencing pain and bleeding, Bear visited the Northwest Health Facility in Meadow Lake, located 300 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon — but was turned away, according to the Saskatchewan NDP.
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Bear → experience → NDP
At the time, she was 36 weeks pregnant with the twins, and it was considered a high-risk pregnancy.
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it → consider → twins
Bear returned to the hospital the following day because her pain had intensified and was sent south to a hospital in Saskatoon.
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pain → return → Saskatoon
After waiting to be seen for hours, her placenta tore, which her family said caused a hemorrhage.
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family → wait → hemorrhage
She died with one of the twins, who was stillborn, her family said.
“Now that my daughter’s gone and the baby, I just want things to change in hospitals and how they treat people,” said Debbie Bear, Chelsea’s mother.
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Bear → die → people
As of Wednesday, the surviving twin named Gracie remained in critical condition at the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital in Saskatoon.
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twin → survive → Saskatoon
Her family shared Bear’s story and is demanding an independent investigation into the care she received prior to her death – their request was backed at a news conference earlier this week by the Meadow Lake Tribal Council (MLTC).
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request → share → Council
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Saskatchewan’s NDP amplified the family’s call Friday, when they issued a news release calling on the government to perform a full investigation and offer a public release of findings, including recommendations for improvement, in light of Bear’s treatment while in hospital.
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they → get → hospital
“We have heard stories of mothers giving birth on the side of highways, and not able to access health care where and when they need it — as the minister claims he’s putting patients first,” Beck said in the release.
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Beck → hear → release
“He could truly demonstrate that by launching an investigation today, to ensure this never happens again.”
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this → demonstrate → investigation
An email statement sent on behalf of Saskatchewan Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill extended condolences over the Bear’s death.
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statement → send → death
“Maternal care and providing access to high-quality health care services to patients in rural and northern communities are significant priorities for our government,” the statement said, adding a patient safety review is being conducted.
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review → provide → government
No other information was released.
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information → release → ?
“The Opposition knows it would be inappropriate and a violation of The Health Information Protection Act (HIPA) privacy laws for the province or the SHA to comment on a patient’s specific clinical details and circumstances with the media,” the ministry said.
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ministry → know → media
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Winnipeg → launch → calls
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glasses → recall → risk
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mothers → bring → resources
On Friday, Beck referred to an earlier news conference where MLTC representatives spoke about the loss of Bear.
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representatives → refer → Bear
At that event, the tribal council said prior to her death, leaders were told “keep quiet” about the situation when they sought answers from the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA).
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they → say → Authority
“Basically, the concern was on ‘What’s the image going to look like?’
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image → go → What
It wasn’t about answering or giving the family comfort,” alleged MLTC Tribal Chief Jeremy Norman.
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Norman → answer → comfort
The SHA confirmed to Global News it met with the tribal council, but did not confirm or deny whether those comments were made during that meeting.
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comments → confirm → meeting
“At the time of that meeting, the SHA had not received consent from the family to discuss the specifics of their case with MLTC,” the authority said in a statement for Global News.
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authority → receive → News
“We have since received the family’s consent and will continue our discussions with MLTC in the coming days.
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We → receive → days
“We take MLTC’s concerns seriously and value their role as an important community partner as we continue this dialogue in a culturally respectful and responsive way.
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we → take → way
This is the second Indigenous woman to die during childbirth this year in Saskatchewan.
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This → die → Saskatchewan
Jaali Weenie-Sutherland, 24, died in April after being transferred to two different hospitals in Saskatoon and waiting 13 hours after receiving a diagnosis of pre-eclampsia — a dangerous pregnancy complication causing high blood pressure.
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Sutherland → die → pressure
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