Sex assault staffing still short of target
The sexual assault domestic violence treatment centre at St. Catharines hospital is not expected to see 24/7 coverage until the end of September.
Concerns over gaps in service for the program were raised last week by staff of the Niagara Sexual Assault Centre, which works with Niagara Health System’s hospital program to aid victims.
When staffing for the program is not available, victims are medically cared for at the hospital and then given the option to take a taxi, paid for by the NHS, to Burlington or Hamilton to have a forensic evidence kit taken.
Jill Randall, the hospital’s director of patient care, emergency and cardiac, said when the NHS committed to having “full-time resource back assigned to the program” by Saturday, it meant having one full-time employee committed to the team following an unanticipated leave.
“We delivered on that,” she said, citing inclusion of a full-time registered nurse to the program “who is highly trained to support the needs of this patient population.”
There remained long breaks in time where no coverage was available for the program this weekend.
Notifications regarding the uncovered shifts went out to the Niagara Sexual Assault Centre Friday.
Partial coverage was provided, with someone on call Friday beginning at 11 p.m. until 3 a.m. Saturday, and on Saturday from 11 p.m. until 7 p.m. Sunday. On-call staff were also available Monday from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. The same hours were scheduled to be covered today.
“Our focus is on recruiting additional staff so we’re on target for the end of September to deliver our commitment for 24/7 service to the community,” Randall said.
Until that time, “there will be some gaps that we may potentially have.”
During those gaps, Randall said the NHS will continue to “facilitate transfer to another centre for forensic care.”
“We’re doing everything we can to minimize any disruption that happens for our patients. Our commitment is ensuring if there (are) gaps that we have a good plan in place.”
Our focus is on recruiting additional staff so we’re on target for the end of September to deliver our commitment for 24/7 service to the community, Jill Randall, the hospital’s director of patient care, emergency and cardiac
Randall said the hospital is using the support of highly-trained nurses who work in various areas of the program to “help fill the gaps while we implement our final model.”
The program was previously operated with staff available 24/7 on call.
Once the new model is launched, staff will be present at the hospital for 16 hours of the day and on call for the remainder.
Work of the sexual assault team is “absolutely the highest priority,” Randall said. “We are absolutely committed to fixing this.”
While recruitment for the program is underway, she would not say how many hires are required.
“It’s really difficult to say because a lot of our staff do do other roles in our building,” she said, calling it a “fine line” between having too many and too few people on board.
The intention, she said, is to ensure the program is sustainable moving forward to ensure 24/7 support beyond the end of September.
Cheri Huys, co-ordinator of Niagara Sexual Assault Centre’s hospital response team, monitored the weekend coverage provided by the hospital.
She acknowledged that there is movement to get the program back on track, but that many hours currently remain unstaffed, which is an issue for victims in the community.
Huys was contacted by Randall Monday and the pair intend to meet later in the week to discuss this issue.
“I’m feeling very positive about that,” Huys said. “This is an issue that has been going on for quite some time, years. It needs to be solved. We need to find a solution to this so that we have coverage.”
There have been people who have recently called for assistance during times when the program is unavailable, Huys said, adding she’s uncertain how many proceeded with outof-town treatment.
“I receive reports from our hospital response workers that really highlight the additional stress that this places on victims and their families. Some people opt not to go (to Hamilton or Burlington),” she said. “It’s an awful feeling to think what happens to them after that.”
While some victims who decline the taxi ride may follow up with their family health provider or go to a clinic for assistance, they won’t have access to all of the options offered through the hospital program.
She doesn’t want victims to get the impression that the service is not important, particularly with a key time of year — the start of a new school term — right around the corner.
“We have a college and a university in our region and we want students to know that we are here and these services are available to them. It’s serious. It’s important,” Huys said.
“This is about victims. In our mandate here, we’ve always been advocates for victims and we’ll continue to be advocates for victims. That’s our job.”
The Ministry of Health and LongTerm Care will be working with the LHIN to address the issue at St. Catharines hospital, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Woodward Fraser said in an e-mail to The Standard.
The ministry will “continue to follow up to ensure that the standard of 24/7 a week coverage is achieved,” she said, calling the treating of sexual assault and domestic violence a priority for the province.
In an e-mailed statement, LHIN communications director Trish Nelson said the organization was in touch with the NH S Monday about the staffing challenges being encountered.
“We know NHS is committed to ensuring patients receive access to appropriate care,” she said. When a patient must go to another hospital for treatment, the NHS will ensure “the patient receives the support and assistance they need throughout the process.”