911 issued complaint over handling of emergency call about unresponsive baby at Yellowknife hotel

After the death of a Nunavut infant while in mandatory isolation at a Yellowknife hotel, Northwest Territories 911 issued a formal complaint to the City of Yellowknife over how the city's emergency dispatch centre handled the father's call for help.

Jackson Quince Agligoetok of Kugluktuk, Nunavut, died while in mandatory isolation with his father, Jason Agligoetok, at the Explorer Hotel in April 2020. At the time, all Nunavut residents who left the territory were required to isolate for 14 days in a designated hub before returning home. 

Agligoetok was 15 weeks old at the time of his death.

According to a Northwest Territories coroner's report released to CBC News last Thursday, Agligoetok's father called Emergency Medical Services about his son and city dispatch told him to call 911 for further assistance while they sent out an ambulance.

But a June 8, 2020, complaint, obtained by CBC News from N.W.T. 911's manager to Yellowknife's then-director of Public Safety, says 911 got no such call.

The complaint indicates that city dispatchers should have transferred the father's call to 911, where he could have gotten instructions for infant CPR while he waited for the ambulance to arrive.

In the event of an emergency in Yellowknife, there's more than one number people can call.

They can dial 911, which is equipped to provide over-the-phone instructions for thousands of medical and fire situations before first responders arrive, or they can call the local prefixes plus 2222 to reach fire or ambulance dispatchers directly.

In a statement issued Tuesday, the city and territory said they wanted to "jointly assure the residents of Yellowknife" that in an emergency, they can call either 911 or 2222.

When asked about Agligoetok's death, the city said it can't comment on specific incidents. 

In an emailed statement, a city spokesperson said "life critical" medical calls to city dispatchers are forwarded to 911, "as per protocols confirmed between N.W.T. 911 and the City."

According to the coroner's report, there were no signs of foul play or visible trauma to the baby. 

An autopsy showed "a normally formed, well-cared-for male infant with no injuries or fractures" and no evidence of asphyxia. 

Coroner Garth Eggenberger concluded that Agligoetok died of an "undetermined cause," or what previously would have been called "sudden infant death syndrome."