At least two nurse examiners for sexual assault will stop picking up extra shifts to help plug gaps in the program, and others may be on the verge of leaving after recent comments from the prime minister and the head of the Horizon Health Network have made them feel “sunk”. the bus,” according to a nurse.
Janet Matheson, a nurse examiner for sexual assaults at Dr. Regional Hospital. Everett Chalmers of Fredericton, says the “dedicated” and “compassionate” nurses in the SANE program want a public apology and more nurses trained to provide the critical service to victims.
Matheson was responding to media coverage of a CBC story Monday about a sexual assault victim who was turned away from Chalmers’ emergency room and told to make an appointment for the next day.
The 26-year-old woman, who CBC News is not naming, said she was still in shock after being told to come home for the night, not to shower or change, and to use the bathroom as little as possible to help preserve any evidence. .
Prime Minister Blaine Higgs issued a statement calling the situation “unacceptable” and “reflective of a process guided by very poor decision-making and a lack of compassion”.
Horizon’s interim director and president, Margaret Melanson, also told reporters that what happened was “unacceptable” and prompted a review of how the program is administered. “There will be follow-up with those working within this program, strengthening on-call scheduling,” as well as contingency plans, he said.
More to the story
In a Facebook post, Matheson, a registered nurse for 45 years, said it is “disheartening to see that, once again, Horizon management has failed to publicly support its staff, choosing instead to let the nurses of ’emergency rooms and now specifically the nurses examining sexual assaults, under the bus.’
It is also “disheartening” that Melanson and Higgs made public comments “that were misleading and painted nurses in a negative light, either because they were in a hurry to avoid taking responsibility and place blame where it belongs, or because they simply did not take responsibility. time or make the effort to find out the real story,” he wrote in the post, which has been shared more than 1,000 times and generated about 150 comments, by Thursday night.
Matheson suggested there is more to the story.
“There are details about this case that would certainly change the public’s view of what happened from the perception left by the CEO and the Prime Minister, but we are handcuffed from sharing them due to privacy restrictions,” he wrote. , referring to the system, not the victim, he clarified during an interview with CBC, without elaborating.
“At the very least, CEO Melanson should find the courage to say publicly and to the Prime Minister: ‘No, Mr Higgs, what happened that night was not the result of a lack of compassion, it was the fault of ‘a system. fail under its own weight because of the government’s inability to fix it.”
There is no one who feels worse that there was no one on duty than our team.- Janet Matheson, SANE Nurse
Matheson confirmed to CBC that she was the nurse who ended up being called that night to help the victim after a Fredericton police officer intervened.
The 69-year-old, who retired in February from 45 years of full-time nursing but returned casually, had just gone to bed after finishing a night shift around midnight . He arrived at the hospital in about 25 minutes for a forensic exam, he said.
Only five SANE nurses are on the Fredericton team and manage to cover 90 per cent 24/7, Matheson said, but none were on call that night.
“I just want to say, look, I work with an amazing team of five nurses and we have an amazing coordinator and … we try to make as many calls as possible.
“And I just felt like that all got swept away, you know, because [of] the feeling of, you know, like, yeah, they rejected her,” she said.
“There’s no one who feels worse about not having someone on duty than our team.”
From a forensic standpoint, the exam could wait until the next morning, according to Matheson. But “it’s a traumatic event and emotionally, I needed the case to be made that night.”
He wants to offer the best possible care
The Prime Minister’s suggestion that what happened showed a lack of compassion by staff was “not a slap in the face” to nurses, whose compassion is the attribute that motivates them to “continually go above and beyond”. , said Melanson, member. of the program for 16 years.
Being an on-call sexual assault nurse examiner means they have to “drop everything, day or night” when a victim comes to the hospital, she said, noting that many work full-time and have families
“And why do we do it? Because we care and we want to provide the best possible care to people on their worst possible day.”
“We never forget that there is a victim. She or he or whoever, they are the most important thing in our mind.”
The “hurtful” comments have not been good for morale, she said, fighting back tears.
At least two nurses, one in Fredericton and one in the upper river valley, “have already said, ‘It won’t be long until we get our apologies'” from Higgs and Melanson.
“And maybe some are writing resignation letters.”
She is not among them, not yet. “I really care about this program.”
The victim defends the nurses
The victim says she was sad to see the nurses blamed because they work so hard and were only following policy when they sent her home.
“I think we all have nurses in our lives that we love and care about and know how completely exhausted they are and how many extra shifts they’re picking up just to cover the usual amount of needs that we have in our communities.
“And so for women to be willing to train and go beyond their usual overscheduled schedules to help women who have experienced this means a lot.”
She says the program needs more trained nurses, “and the need is not something we can ignore.”
Only five nurses are trained to provide sexual assault examinations at the Regional Hospital Dr. Everett Chalmers of Fredericton, said Janet Matheson. (Joe McDonald/CBC)
That’s why she decided to share her experience, to help make sure it doesn’t happen to anyone else.
She has been overwhelmed and humbled by the public support and national attention her case has received, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calling it “horrific,” she said.
“I think I feel safer as a woman knowing that when something happens to me that shouldn’t happen, no one sits down and agrees with it, but people speak up and make sure the right thing happens.”
She is “cautiously optimistic” about Horizon’s continued review of the show, she said, after receiving a call from Melanson.
“I think it shows that the policy has been harmful to women, and I’m glad it’s being updated. And I hope they let me know when that’s changed so that I’m the last woman this happens to, until and everything. if it wasn’t the first.”
CEO praises dedicated staff, cites ‘systemic issues’
Melanson confirmed calling the victim. “I congratulated her for coming forward. I congratulated her for her courage and for speaking out,” he told reporters Thursday.
“And as a woman and as a member of the community, I assured her that this is something that is being taken very, very seriously by Horizon, that we have now introduced a very clear process improvement that will occur within this whole program.”
She did not give any details.
Asked about concerns raised on social media about health workers who feel they are being blamed and suggestions there is more to the story, Melanson said she praised the nurses taking part in the program.
Margaret Melanson, interim president and CEO of Horizon Health Network, said she believes calling the victim shows leadership and takes “extreme ownership” of what’s going on within the health authority. “I want to make sure that these people realize that the leader at the helm of this organization is empathetic, considerate and very eager to get involved to make sure that the care provided is always delivered safely and of high quality”. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)
“They have a lot of dedication,” he said, during a break at a public accounts committee in the legislature, where officials from Horizon and Vitalité answered questions from MPs about the health care system, including the SANE program.
“I would also say that this particular circumstance — and we’re very glad that the victim came forward and shared her story with us — emphasizes the gaps and the problems in our system. And I certainly don’t want anyone it feels as though there is any kind of scrutiny or, worse, any blame to be applied to any of our staff.
“Our staff are dedicated people who often do this work after long hours of intense shifts because they are committed to this program and very committed to the population and the need for these types of services.”
As for whether she told Higgs the problem wasn’t a lack of compassion, Melanson said she and Horizon Councilwoman Suzanne Johnston met with him Wednesday.
“We covered a number of different issues and certainly the Prime Minister and others are aware that there were systemic issues behind this particular circumstance,” he said, without providing any further details.
Job not for everyone
Matheson said she hopes to see more nurses trained, at least two or three more for Fredericton alone, which would reduce the amount of on-call work needed.
Not everyone can do it, he said, and many drop out. It requires extensive training, ongoing education and is emotionally difficult, he said, noting that the victims are sometimes children.
It also takes time. In addition to forensic examination to obtain evidence for police investigations and medical examination, nurses also provide compassionate support, medications to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, and resources for follow-up. If a case does…