TRURO, N.S. – A second woman has come forward with a complaint about how she was treated at the Colchester East Hants Health Centre (CEHHC) after she went to the emergency department to report a sexual assault.
“It was the night my soul was taken from me,” the woman told the Truro News.
“The only way to describe it is a mind of craziness,” she said, of her mindset during the alleged ordeal at the hospital. “I’m left to deal with the dark demons of the dark. It’s like you are walking out into a black abyss.”
The woman, who asked that her identity not be published for personal reasons, said although the incident occurred four years ago, she decided to come forward now after reading a recent story published by the Truro News about a young woman who also went to the Truro emergency department to report a sexual assault and was sent away with only pamphlets without being given an opportunity to speak to a nurse or a doctor.
That woman was taken by her mother to Antigonish where she was treated through the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) program at that hospital. She has also since reported the assault incident to the police.
The second woman has sent a letter outlining her experience to Health and Wellness Minister Randy Delorey. She also provided a copy to the Truro News.
“I am writing regarding the recent news media attention on the Colchester East Hants Health Center's turning away a rape victim,” she says in her letter. “I want you to know that this is obviously common practice at this hospital. I have not come forward with my story until now because I have tried to move past being a victim.”
She said the incident occurred on Sept. 18 , 2014 when she was both sexually and physically assaulted by her then-husband of 17 years.
“It took me 3 days to finally come forward and report to the RCMP. After I went through questioning and what I felt was an interrogation and re-victimization at our local detachment in Bible Hill I was asked by police to go to the hospital to have a “rape kit” done. I went to the CEHHC by myself and sat in the waiting room where in my unwell mind felt like every person there knew why I was sitting there. I remember sitting there (it was cold) thinking what do I say when I have to talk to the male triage nurse. What words do I use? Will he judge me? Will he think badly of me? Will I have to tell him all the disgusting details? Will I have to take my clothes off and show them my violated body? Should I just leave? These are just some of the things that raced through my mind at that time.”
My name was called so now everyone knows who I am. I told the male triage nurse that the RCMP want me to have a rape kit completed. He took my vitals and sent me back to the cold waiting room where all those people were sitting and in my mind knew why I was there.”
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…’ (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, I wasn’t worthy of any of this, you know, kind of lost in the wind.”
The SANE program does not exist at the hospital in Truro nor are the 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 training,” 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.
“The doctor said, ‘well I don't know what the value of that will be,’" she says in her letter. “He left. When the doctor returned to the room with the nurse he told me he was not going to complete the rape kit. He handed me a piece of scrap paper with a phone number to the Avalon Center 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 has been received by his office, the minister himself has yet to see 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 on Monday 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 health-care 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 that she was having difficulty even reaching anyone locally to assist with her concerns.
