A Fredericton woman is still in shock after she went to the local hospital's emergency department to get a sexual assault forensic examination performed and was told to schedule an appointment for the next day.
The woman, whom CBC News is not naming, says she was told no one was on staff or on call that night at the hospital who was trained to perform the exam.
That response by staff at the Dr. Everett Chalmers Regional Hospital has now triggered a review of how Horizon Health Network's sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) program is administered, said Horizon interim CEO and president Margaret Melanson.
The 26-year-old victim said she was told to go home overnight, not shower or change and to use the bathroom as little as possible, to help preserve any evidence.
"I just really wanted to not have to preserve my body in the state that it was in for another 12 hours," she said in an interview. "So I guess I was feeling like I was being asked to sit in that experience. Like, I could smell him on me."