Less than a human being’
One of the most disturbing aspects of her treatment, the woman said, was the reaction she received from a staff member in the emergency department.
“Initially, her response was: ‘oh great, we’re going to have to shut the emergency room down for several hours in order to do a rape kit…’” the woman related, because of the staff who would be required to conduct the examination.
“I felt, that I wasn’t worthy. I wasn’t worthy of her time. I wasn’t worthy of the emergency department’s time.”
The SANE program has not been implemented at the hospital in Truro nor are examination kits available there. But the woman said she feels all front-line staff should have some degree of sensitivity training to deal with such personal cases.
“I work in health care and her response was inappropriate, even if she doesn’t have SANE train- ing,” she said. “You feel less than a human being. That’s why I’m talking now, because I’m seeing this happen again. How many other people have had this happen? And how many other people have walked out of there?”
The woman said she was further degraded by the doctor who saw her when he refused to do the rape kit examination because she had taken too long to report the incident.
“He handed me a piece of scrap paper with a phone number to the Avalon (Sexual Assault) Centre in Halifax. He said, ‘I don’t know if there is anything here in Colchester for you.”’
A spokesperson for Delorey said while the letter had been received by his office, the minister himself had not, at that time, seen it.
“We cannot speak to specific cases, but we continue to enhance and expand the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) program across the province and are looking at how the appropriate resources could be provided in the Truro area through the Colchester East Hants Health Centre,” spokeswoman Tracy Barron said, in an emailed response.
“We have confirmed that Colchester East Hants Health Centre is using a standard protocol for managing how patients presenting after a sexual assault are cared for.”
The SANE program is being extended to Cape Breton with additional sites to be added in the Annapolis Valley and the South Shore.
“In addition,” Barron said, “victims of sexual violence – no matter where they present – have options for care outside of the current SANE program sites. A healthcare provider in any location can contact the on-call sexual assault nurse examiner for information or guidance, or the individual can speak to the nurse examiner directly. A sexual assault examination kit can be done by a sexual assault nurse examiner or a doctor.”
That did not happen in the recent case of the woman who was turned away from the Truro hospital, however.
And she also told the Truro News she was having difficulty even reaching anyone locally to assist with her concerns.