A COUNCILLOR has called for protocols and a clear national pathway to be put in place for people who have had their drink spiked after a female family member ended up in the Mercy Hospital as a result of drink spiking.

Fianna Fáil Cllr Audrey Buckley told The Southern Star that she is shocked that there are no statistics available or protocols in place about this epidemic.

‘When they came out of hospital it wasn’t even on their chart that there may have been suspected spiking. What’s more scary is that this is not a rare occurrence and seems to be happening a lot,’ said Cllr Buckley.

‘This incident happened three weeks ago at a city centre nightspot and they were with friends socialising. It was their first time in town and they had only one drink. My family member was shaking and passing out and there was no smell of alcohol.’

Cllr Buckley was more upset that  neither the relative or their friends were being taken seriously by gardaí who turned up at the Mercy Hospital or the ambulance staff who transported her to hospital.

‘It was so upsetting to receive a call at midnight and have to go into the Mercy Hospital and now knowing what was facing me.’

She pointed out that there is a very short window for bloods to be taken after a suspected drink spiking but this was not  carried out at the hospital.

‘At the moment there are no stats available for drink spiking and there are no protocols in place. We got more of a bigger fright when in the hospital watching them. I was later contacted by other people who also said it’s a common occurrence.’

As a result of the incident, Cllr Buckley raised a motion at last week’s meeting of the local authority calling on both the Minister for Health and the Minister for Justice to commit to establishing a clear national pathway across hospitals and garda stations to ensure suspected spiking incidents are treated as crimes.

She also called for these incidents to be investigated properly and supported by appropriate clinical and policing protocols.

Cllr Gearoid Murphy (FF) seconded her motion and commended her for detailing her own personal story in the council chamber.

He said it was crucial that procedures are put in place in hospital for cases where people present themselves with a suspected case of drink spiking.

Cllr Ann Bambury (SD) said she is shocked that at present there is no clear national protocol to guarantee that toxicology testing is carried out in suspected cases of drink
spiking.

Three years ago The Southern Star spoke to one Bantry woman who was hospitalised after her drink was spiked while out socialising in the town and she warned people to be vigilant on nights out.