Sex assault victim turned away from ER hopes sharing story did more good than harm
Fredericton woman, 26, disappointed but not surprised by resignations of 4 sexual assault nurse examiners
The Fredericton rape victim whose story about being turned away from the local emergency department made national headlines and triggered a review of Horizon's sexual assault nurse examiner program says she hopes speaking out has done more good than harm.
The woman, 26, whom CBC is not naming, was reacting to the fact that four nurses have resigned from the sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) program since she shared her story with CBC News.
She is disappointed, but not surprised, she said.
"There was a part of me initially that almost felt bad, like it was my fault that it had happened, for bringing it up.
"But then when I thought about it, I was like, no, what happened to me wasn't my fault, and what happened to me at the hospital wasn't my fault. And this also wasn't my fault," she said.
"It seems like the real concern of these nurses was that they're really going above and beyond for the people in our city, and it doesn't feel like the premier is valuing that work that they're doing."
Lack of compassion: Higgs
The nurses who resigned — two from Fredericton and two from the Upper River Valley area — felt "disrespected" by comments the premier and the Horizon CEO made about the case, according to Janet Matheson, a member of the Fredericton unit.
When the woman went to the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital to get a sexual assault forensic exam, commonly referred to as a rape kit, she was told no one trained to perform the exam was available on staff or on call until the next day.
She was instructed to go home overnight, not shower or change, and to use the bathroom as little as possible to help preserve any evidence.
Premier Blaine Higgs had described the incident as "unacceptable" and "reflective of a process guided by very poor decision-making and a lack of compassion."
On Wednesday, the opposition called on Higgs to apologize to the nurses. They argued lowering morale will only make the province's health-care worker retention and recruitment problems worse. But Higgs refused.
"Whomever was there that night made a choice," he told reporters.
The woman did get the exam a couple of hours later when a police officer intervened and Matheson, 69, who wasn't on call, was called back in after finishing an evening shift around midnight.
She doesn't agree with blaming the nurses and says she would like to see Higgs "take some responsibility."
"It's clear that it's not just the hospital, like they can only make do with the resources that they have. So I'd be curious why he's avoiding talking about the responsibility that the province has to support this system and how he's going to help improve it," she said.
Health Minister Bruce Fitch did announce Wednesday the hiring of a new executive director of health workforce planning. Kelsey MacDonald will "support recruitment initiatives across the health-care and long-term care systems," according to the Department of Health.
The new position is "a great start," the woman said. But she contends the money allocated to health care "clearly" isn't enough to keep hospitals adequately staffed.
What that feels like to me … is that they've counted the cost of stories like mine and decided that they're worth it; that they'd rather keep … the extra funding than avoid having something like this happen to another person.- Sexual assault victim
She notes the government is projecting a $135.5 million budget surplus in the current fiscal year — $100 million more than Finance Minister Ernie Steeves projected in his budget in March.
"When I look at … how they've made cuts or have decided not to give further funding to the health-care system but to keep that as surplus, what that feels like to me … is that they've counted the cost of stories like mine and decided that they're worth it; that they'd rather keep … the extra funding than avoid having something like this happen to another person."
That's "hard to hear," she said.
The reason she decided to speak out about her experience was to help make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else.
"I think it's done more good than harm, but it just makes me sad that maybe … this would discourage someone from going to the hospital to receive support and that it's discouraged nurses from like helping in this way."
She hopes it will be a short-term setback and positive changes will follow, with Horizon's SANE program review expected to be completed within weeks, and given the groundswell of public support her story has received.
She is "pleasantly surprised" people are still talking about the situation nearly a month later and continuing to advocate for change.
"Lots of times something can make a big deal for a second and then it kind of goes away. So yeah, I'm really glad to see that it's being taken as seriously as it is."