A young mum who was sexually assaulted by another patient at Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline has called for an inquiry to investigate NHS Fife’s safeguarding processes.
The woman was being treated for a complex post traumatic syndrome linked to childhood abuse when she was assaulted by a male patient three years ago.
She was so traumatised by what happened to her, she suffered night terrors and signed herself out before her treatment was completed.
Speaking to The Sunday Post, she said: “What happened to me should never have been allowed to happen in the first place, but after I reported what a male patient did to me, nursing staff refused to move my attacker to another unit and failed to report the assault to the police.
“I was told by several staff to keep quiet about it because it was upsetting for other patients.
“The man who attacked me became so brazen because no action was taken against him, he then harassed and stalked me.
“I was scared to close my eyes to sleep. When sleep overcame me, I would wake screaming from night terrors reliving what that man had done to me.
“I became suicidal, but even then, hospital staff failed to move my attacker to another hospital. Instead, I was given strong medication to knock me out at night.
“I’d wake up covered in bruise marks over my body. Nursing staff told me I must have done them myself.
“Eventually I felt the only way I could feel safe was to sign myself out of hospital before my treatment ended.”
New figures reveal reported sexual assaults
New figures show there has been 34 sexual assaults reported to NHS Fife over the last five years, among the highest in Scotland.
Nine of the 34 sexual assaults at NHS Fife took place at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, with a further five attacks logged at Queen Margaret.
Speaking about her own assault, the Dunfermline patient said felt it was “swept under the carpet” and has no idea if her attacker has been pursued by police.
“Staff knew how vulnerable I was, but every time I tried to speak to the nurses I was dismissed”, she said.
“The hospital failed to report what happened to me.
“Instead, a counselling service which had been supporting me before I went into hospital reported the assault to the police who came to see me on the ward before I signed myself out.
“I remember the female officer who spoke to me seemed angry that the incident had not been reported to them right away.”
She added: “I was too unwell at the time to properly follow up what was being done about the incident, but I fear the attack was swept under the carpet as I never heard anything more.
“But if what happened to me is anything to go by, I wonder whether the true number of attacks in hospitals are even higher than we realise as it appears not all attacks are reported.”
‘Robust procedures’
Fife Health and Social Care Partnership said it could not comment on individual cases and added: “It remains incredibly rare for incidents of this type to occur in our hospitals.
“Where an incident is reported to us, there are robust procedures in place to ensure there is a thorough investigation and prompt escalation to Police Scotland.”
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