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The security guards responsible for evicting a man from Victoria Hospital in Prince Albert and leaving him outside in the cold have been banned from working in Saskatchewan Health Authority facilities.
In a statement issued to media on Friday, the SHA said it “acknowledges the impact this incident has had on trust and safety for Indigenous patients and unequivocally condemns racism in all forms, including Indigenous specific racism.”
A bystander’s video of the Dec. 11 incident, shared on social media, shows three security guards pushing an Indigenous man in a wheelchair east through the hospital parking lot. The man is screaming in the video. A second video shows a man lying in the snow on the sidewalk outside the nearby Victoria Square Compounding Pharmacy business complex.
The SHA previously confirmed that someone was escorted out of the hospital on the evening of Dec. 11 for being disruptive.
Prince Albert city police have said they are investigating the incident and the videos. They said officers responded to a report of a disturbance outside the hospital around 10:50 p.m. and found a man lying in the snow. They assessed his condition and ensured he was medically evaluated.
PAGC Grand Chief Brian Hardlotte said PAGC health representatives met with the SHA to discuss the incident.
“I am somewhat happy; at least they came up with something,” Hardlotte said. “But there needs to be more done. We are planning in the new year to meet with the Saskatchewan Health Authority and look at the policies.”
Hardlotte said he also wants to meet with city police to review protocol, and would like to see contractors working for the SHA take cultural training.
“We all have to work together when incidents like this happen so it doesn’t happen to any other person,” he said.
The SHA’s statement said it plans to work with PAGC to hire an Indigenous patient liaison to work in the Victoria Hospital emergency department.
“We take this matter seriously, recognize and empathize with the concerns raised,” Garda World Security, the company responsible for hiring the security guards at the hospital, said in a statement.
The company said the guards involved in the incident are currently suspended from their jobs, pending an investigation.