WATCH ABOVE: Police and Alberta Health Services are investigating an allegation of a sexual assault of a patient at the Royal Alexandra Hospital. Fletcher Kent reports.
EDMONTON – Police and Alberta Health Services are investigating a disturbing allegation of a sexual assault on a patient at an Edmonton hospital.
The patient’s daughter told the Edmonton Journal her mother has dementia and may have been a victim of two assaults.
“We are meeting with the family to discuss their concerns and to hear what they’re hearing from their family member. We’re also doing a review of our own to look into exactly the circumstances,” said Colleen Turner with Alberta Health Services.
“With the memory problems, the confusion, their lack of ability to reason, you really have to have an investigation,” said Arlene Huhn from the Alzheimer’s Society.
“We don’t want people to discredit people with dementia because they very well could be right. But we also appreciate that they could have their information wrong too.”
Regardless of what the investigation reveals, Huhn says proper care helps. She’s advocating for more dementia patients in long-term care homes, which is something new Alberta health minister Stephen Mandel would like to see as well.
“Hopefully we’ll be able to put in place this year the opportunity to build the facilities we need to move people out of acute care and into the facilities they should be in,” Mandel said.
“I’m not saying this will stop these problems, but it’s a better environment.”
Neither police nor AHS has said how long their investigations will take.
Mandel has asked to be briefed on the case.
“When these events happen, it’s tremendous stress on the families and our hearts and thoughts go out to them.”
With files from Fletcher Kent, Global News
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