Ottawa Hospital to treat sex assault victims 24/7

The Ottawa Hospital says a sexual assault nurse trained to administer a rape kit will now be available 24 hours a day.

The hospital came under fire this week aftera young Ottawa woman had to travel to Renfrew to have a rape kit administered because there was no specializednurse available at the Civic Campus of the Ottawa Hospital.

In a written release, the hospital said the woman's experience "highlighted a gap" in service.

The hospital apologized to the patient, her family and the community for being unable to care for her.

"The incident was unacceptable and we regret that it happened," Ottawa Hospital chief operating officer and acting CEO Gina Picciano said in the release.

"We also acknowledge that this was not an isolated incident. A comprehensive review has been done and immediate measures are in place to ensure no other patient is faced with a similar delay in care."

Dr. Jim Worthington, vice-president of quality and patient safety, said the hospital would take action to ensure the incident was not repeated.

"Working with our nursing professionals and medical staff, we now have a staffing structure in place that will ensure that an appropriately trained nurse is available 24/7, guaranteeing the quality that our patients deserve," he said.

Experts in the field say low wages are driving nurses out of Ontario's sexual assault program, leaving hospitals without trained nurses on call.

They say the average wage for an on-call nurse trained to administer a rape kit is $3.20 an hour.