Supt: Lack of KGH sex assault unit hampers conviction hopes
THE gardaí have added their voice to calls for the HSE to reopen the sexual assault treatment unit at Kerry General Hospital.
Tralee Superintendent Jim O'connor said this week that ongoing lack of a dedicated unit to cater for victims of sex attacks, adds to the suffering of victims and could have an impact on the ability of gardaí to secure convictions in rape and sexual assault cases.
Kerry had a sexual assault treatment unit (SATU) which was run on a pilot basis until 2004 when the unit was shut down. Since its closure, victims of rape or sexual assaults in Kerry have been forced to travel to Cork's South Infirmary, or in some cases as far as Waterford, to undergo forensic examinations.
Following outcry over the closure of the unit, the HSE announced that it had allocated €100,000 to provide a satellite SATU unit at Kerry General Hospital.
However the HSE has now said it has no plans to reopen the sexual assault treatment unit at Kerry General Hospital and that the funding has instead been allocated to the emergency Unit at KGH.
The announcement led to a storm of protest locally and at Tralee's Joint Policing Committee Meeting Superintendent Jim O'connor said he supported the campaign to reopen the unit.
Supt O'connor said the lack of local SATU added to victims suffering and could affect the quality of forensic evidence collected following a sexual assault or rape.
"I'm very anxious that the SATU would be brought back to Tralee. After an attack, every hour that passes reduces the best outcome (in terms of the quality of forensic evidence collected). Every additional hour is a negative," he said.
"There have been cases where injured parties wouldn't travel to Cork or Waterford but they would have reported the incident if they could have been dealt with locally," he said.
Supt O'connor, who said he is willing to write to the HSE in support of the campaign to have the SATU reopened, also dismissed recent comments from the HSE which cast doubt on the quality of evidence that could be collected at an SATU in Kerry.
Last month, two County Councillors attacked the HSE over comments made by the executive which appeared to suggest that staff at Kerry General Hospital don't have the skills or training to run a sexual assault unit.
Following enquiries on behalf of councillors, Kerry County Council received a letter last month which stated that Cork was a more suitable location for a SATU because of the "skills, experience and training required by the clinical staff".
This section of the letter drew a furious response from Cllr Norma Foley and Toireasa Ferris who raised the comments with Supt O'connor at Monday's meeting.
Supt O'connor said he disagreed with the HSE statement and had never had any reason to doubt the expertise of those who staffed the SATU in Kerry.
"I've never seen any criminal case fall because of any individual in the SATU. These are specially trained staff. They are experts in their field and they would not have been asked to go into that field unless they were so qualified," he said.
- SIMON BROUDER
