A new video from Fraser Health walks people who have experienced sexual assault through what they might experience when seeking help at Surrey Memorial Hospital.
The goal of the video is to raise awareness about options available for those who have experienced intimate partner violence or sexual assault. According to Statistics Canada, 37 per cent of women and 11 per cent of men in British Columbia reported "being sexually assaulted since age 15," which is the highest for all provinces.
Hannah Varto, a forensic nurse practitioner at Fraser Health's Embrace Clinic in Surrey, said, "The whole thing can feel scary and overwhelming, and absolutely you've had some control taken away from you, and we're here to help you regain some of that control. We can't change the past, but we can maybe help things get better."
The first thing the patient will do when they walk through the doors of the emergency room is talk to the triage nurse. "The nurse will make sure you are OK," Varto said. The nurse will then take the patient's vital signs and ask if they have any injuries or any questions about the incident.
After that, the patient is asked if they want to see a forensic nurse examiner; if they do, the nurse will be paged and will usually arrive within about an hour, Varto said.
Forensic nurses are based at Surrey Memorial Hospital and Abbotsford Regional Hospital and Cancer Centre, but they serve the entire Fraser Health region and can be called upon to any hospital within the health authority upon request. The forensic nursing services see people aged 13 years and older within seven days of the sexual assault.
Forensic nurse examiner Larena Dodd said patients are then brought back to the forensic nursing suite, which is designed to be calm and separate from the busy emergency room.
"The forensic nurse is here to provide information, talk about potential outcomes for decisions that patients get to make, and walk patients through the decision that's right," Dodd said.
The patients are also informed about what will take place during the physical exams, so they are prepared and there are no surprises. The patient is offered a forensic exam and medical care, such as assessing for injuries and reviewing medication for unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases.
"The forensic exam is an evidence exam. So we're doing a very, very detailed head-to-toe examination, as much as our patients are comfortable with. If there's a part of their body that they don't want us to look at, we won't do that. We can offer that full forensic exam, and then the patient gets to decide what they want to do with it," Dodd said.
At each step of the forensic examination, the nurse will obtain consent from the patient. "If our patient needs to stop or take a break, then absolutely, we do it. We do what our patient wants and we go at their pace," Dodd said.
Dodd's message to people who have experienced sexual assault is, "Know that we're here, know that we want to help, and know that you don't need to do any of this alone."
Patients can decide if they want that evidence given to the police or if they want the hospital to hold the evidence until they decide what they want to do.
Hannah Varto said that the forensic exam is just one step in the patient's journey.
If the patient chooses, followup care is available at the Embrace Clinic, located across the street from Surrey Memorial Hospital.
The clinic offers short-term medical care to mature minors and adults of any gender who are survivors of recent violence, including screening and treatment of injuries and infections and referrals to specialists and community resources. The clinic also runs a strangulation clinic for patients who have experienced this type of violence.
Varto explained that patients who expressed interest in the Embrace Clinic will be contacted within three days of their hospital visit to schedule an in-person or phone appointment.
"We want to remind people that we believe you and we will support you and your decisions on what you want to do next. Our focus is always making sure that you are OK first, then we can talk about all the other options after that," Varto said. "So when you walk through our doors, whether it's at the forensic nursing service or whether it's at the Embrace Clinic, we believe you and we'll be here for you."
To book an appointment, call 604-807-5406 to talk with a nurse practitioner or email embraceclinic@fraserhealth.ca.
