Uko family shares health-care changes they want to see

The public inquest into the death of Samwel Uko is coming to an end, so what would his family like to see come out of it?

Uko was the 20-year-old man who died from suicide in Regina after being turned away from the hospital while seeking mental health assistance.

The inquest into his death will make recommendations on changes that should be implemented in the health-care system. The jury started deliberating Friday morning.

On Friday, Uko’s family spoke to the media. His uncle, Justin Nyee, believes the hospital staff who turned Uko away are racist, and blames his death on that.

With that in mind, Nyee mentioned some of the changes he’d like to see.

“The hospital needs to train their staff. It has to be continuously. One of the things we heard from them was, ‘I was hired, I was trained, and that was like 12 or 13 years ago.’ So people are working now based on what they were trained (in) 15 years ago,” Nyee began.

“Society has changed … These things have to be repeated again. They have to be trained.”

And there’s one big thing he wants to see included in that training.

“They have to emphasize to the hospital that racism is a real thing. It’s a real thing. So teaching your employees to be aware of it and making sure that they’re not doing it, it will help,” he said.

Nyee has another recommendation that’s based on race.

“They have to make ER look like Canada. And what I mean by Canada is we are a collection of immigrants (and) Indigenous from everywhere. We came here to make this home. You can be White, you can be Black, you can be East Indian, you can be Punjabi, you can be Caribbean, but you proudly (live) as a Canadian. That is what I want to see there,” Nyee said.

“That will help people who go in. They will not feel like that is a place where nobody cares for them.”

Nyee would also like to see all of the staff members involved in turning Uko away fired.

“Another thing we hope they will bring out is accountability. When something happens, when someone screws up, that person should be held accountable,” he said.

Nyee also took the opportunity to once again share how difficult this has been for him and the whole family.

“Samwel’s mom, I have known her for the last 22 years, since she got married to my brother … The last two years, I have seen a turnaround, 360 degrees. She is not the person I met and I knew for the last 20 years …,” Nyee said.

“Just before the last news conference we had, her blood pressure went to 200. She was taken to hospital and now she’s (on) medication. She’s being eaten alive inside.”

Nyee went on to describe his own feelings.

“We are angry. We are upset. It’s very frustrating … I did say to one of (the staff members) that, ‘I hope his cry for help will haunt you until the end of your life.’ And I’m not taking that back,” he said.