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Two former students in Brighton, Imogen Turnbow and Saraya Haddad, have criticised medical staff for not supporting them enough after they were spiked. They claimed that they were denied drug tests, discouraged from contacting the police, and that Ms Turnbow’s fault was implied by a 111 operator. While the South East Coast Ambulance Service did express concern and said it took the issue seriously, in a position statement in 2022 the Royal College of Emergency Medicine stated that a hospital’s primary responsibility was to address victims’ medical needs, rather than collect forensic samples.
In one incident, Ms Turnbow blacked out in a busy Brighton bar in 2021 and woke up in a cupboard with no feeling in her leg. She was told there was nothing that could be done when she visited Royal Sussex County Hospital A&E department the next day and called 111 for help. She became quite upset on the phone with a nurse operator, who told her to be more vigilant when going out. Ms Turnbow was extremely let down by the services that should have supported her in unsafe situations, and she did not report the incident to the police.
Ms Haddad was spiked while having a meal and drinks at a bar in 2019, and woke up 13 hours later with no memories, with friends having taken her home. She was disappointed when A&E at the Royal Sussex Hospital would not test her for drugs that might have been used to spike her, and with staff discouraging her from going to the police. She was shocked and felt that the hospital blamed her for the incident, which was a complete victim blaming. She went on to perform a solo play at Edinburgh Fringe, aiming to raise awareness of spiking, after deciding not to take further action.
Stamp Out Spiking, an anti-spiking charity, reports that nearly 98% of victims do not report the crime. One of the reasons is that there is a lot of stigma around spiking, which is not a specific offence but is illegal under separate laws. Spiking results in lowered inhibitions, confusion, nausea, hallucinations and paranoia, memory loss, and other symptoms that may occur within hours of the incident. Although there is a downward trend of spiking cases in Sussex, some cases are not being reported, and the police are urging people to report such incidents.
The University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust has stated that patients are treated based on presenting symptoms, and A&E can only treat a person if they are ill, with no screening tests used routinely. However, Ms Turnbow and Ms Haddad did not receive treatment at A&E, so the Trust refused to comment further. The Metropolitan Police has advised that only the police can conduct a forensic test unless a victim has been sexually assaulted, in which case specialist support will also be provided at a sexual assault referral centre
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