Former patient sexually assaulted at Winnipeg hospital

A former psychiatric patient who was sexually assaulted by a ward clerk at a Winnipeg hospital shared her story for the first time Thursday.

The mother of two managed career, marriage and family life despite experiencing bouts of anxiety, alcoholism and bipolar disorder. But four years ago things took a turn after she was admitted to Seven Oaks Hospital.

She arrived at the hospital and was immediately admitted. While in the psych ward, she met a ward clerk. The clerk began flirting with her and borrowed a DVD from the woman.

"Then jokingly he said something about putting his phone number in it, and I just thought he was kidding," she said.

Questionable clerk

The clerk eventually smuggled a cellphone to her wrapped in a newspaper.

"We started texting, communicating more," she said. Then one night the clerk visited the woman in her room.

"He made an excuse to come to our side of the ward late at night before his shift ended," she said. "He kissed me in my room."

Things started to escalate and before long the patient and clerk were meeting regularly at spots in and around the hospital.

"We started meeting on his breaks in the parking lot at Shoppers Drug Mart and, you know, just talking, being physically a little bit close," she said. "We'd meet downstairs for coffee at the hospital, even walk around downstairs, sat in the x-ray room, and it kept progressing."

'He looked at my chart': patient

Eventually the woman started to feel like the friendly clerk knew everything about her.

"He looked at my chart. He knew everything about me, so he knew exactly where I was weak and what would make me feel comfortable and engage me."

When the hospital issued her a weekend pass, the clerk arranged to meet with the patient outside the confines of the hospital.

"We went to the liquor store and then went to the hotel," she said. "I was fairly intoxicated and we were intimate and after that he took me to my friends house."

Intimate interactions happened a few more times before she was discharged from the hospital.

Hospital notified of clerk

Once discharged, the female patient realized the clerk, who had told her he was single, had been taking advantage of her in her vulnerable state.

"He sort of made me all these promises and I guess in that state it sounds like a fairy tale, and I guess I just bought into it," she said. "And then, all of a sudden, he ceased contact and I believe it was Christmas Eve I received an extremely angry phones call from his common-law wife."

Her husband notified staff at Seven Oaks Hospital about what had transpired between his wife and the clerk. The hospital then asked the former patient to file a formal statement outlining what went on between her and the clerk.

"I was terrified," she said. "The day I walked back into Seven Oaks I was in the bathroom throwing up."

The ward clerk lost his job.

"It was very humiliating to go and speak with the hospital and talk about this, because once you sort of get back to a normal state it's just — it almost feels like, 'was that really me?'"

Life in disrepair

The former psychiatric patient said her life went into a tailspin following treatment.

"It's been very difficult for my children," she said. "They lost their mother for three years. My family lost me, I lost me, my husband lost me, so it definitely had a ripple effect.

"It wasn't just my life, it was everyone close to me."

But she had her day in court and things are back on track now. Last week she won a civil case against Seven Oaks Hospital and the ward clerk.

"I felt vindicated. I was glad that other people would know so that they were aware that these things can happen and for myself and my family it was just a huge weight," she said.

Going forward, the former patient said she would like to see more significant vetting processes implemented in the future upon hiring new clerks.

"I think extensive reference checks, I think extensive interviewing, possibly even speaking to close friends or family members as references," she said.

"Because people are very vulnerable in these situations, and a lot of times more than myself, and they wanted somewhere safe to go get help and get well and try and get their lives back," she said. "I don't want it to happen to anyone else."

The WRHA said it now provides annual training for staff on maintaining professional boundaries.

Safety expert weighs in

CBC News shared the former psychiatric patient's story with patient safety expert Darrell Horn.

"The privileges afforded under a critical incident investigation give other people on the unit — doctors, nurses, you know, anybody else who came into contact with the patient — as well as other patients and family members or anything else an opportunity to safely share their stories without any consequences of any legal repercussions," said Horn.

Horn said the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority should have done more to investigate the incident. He also said a civil court decision doesn't provide a sufficient amount of protection for patients in the future.

"Legal processes are not designed as safety investigations," said Horn. "They are designed to address legal concerns and needs.  

"A safety investigation is something completely separate and apart with an entirely different goal, and I would say, based on information that I have seen, that a critical incident investigation would have been not only entirely appropriate but required."