Ottawa Hospital couldn't provide rape kit test

A young Ottawa woman had to travel to Renfrew to have a rape kit administered because there was no trained nurse availableat the Civic Campus of the Ottawa Hospital.

The 21-year-old woman was brought to the hospital by policeearly Sunday morning after being drugged and sexually assaulted, but was told it was not possible to receivethe test then and there. Rape kits are used to gather evidence in sexual assaults.

"We could have seen her the following morning. So Monday morning or alternatives Renfrew or Cornwall," said Mike Tierney, vice-president ofclinicalprograms, critical care, emergency and community servicesat the Ottawa Hospital.

She went to Renfrew, but that didn't please the police or a woman's group that supports victims of violence.

"The police were not happy" because they had to accompany the woman to Renfrew, Tierney said.

"We're outraged." said Concillia Muonde, public education co-ordinator at the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Ottawa."If someone had gone in with a bleeding wound, they would be attended to."

Tierney said they've been unable to cover some shifts at the Civic."Over the past few weeks, we've had some challenges in staffing those positions due to some unexpected leaves."

The hospital usually has a specialized nurse working days Monday to Friday, and one on call after hours and weekends. But there was no nurse on call last weekend.The problem should be fixed by this weekend.

However, Tierney said there have been other cases where people were referred to other hospitals.

"Certainly over the last few weeks is when we've been the most challenged with our staffing and we've had a few other incidents where we have not been able to provide the care as promptly as we would like," he said.