Right to Choose: The little known NHS service helping people bypass long autism assessment waiting times
More people are turning to an NHS system which allows them to choose a health provider and reduce their waiting time for an autism assessment.
This comes as figures show 147,042 patients in England are waiting longer than 13 weeks.
Right to Choose is a system that can allow people seeking an autism assessment to bypass long waiting lists within the NHS.
Lexy Webster, who was diagnosed with ADHD last year and is currently seeking an autism diagnosis, said: “Right to Choose is pretty much the only way you can get diagnosed now, unless you pay privately.
“You have to go online and see which provider has the best wait list, which one has the best reviews of their system, and pick the one that you want to be put through.”
If someone is referred for an autism assessment by their GP, and the waiting list in their local NHS practice is longer than the promised NHS waiting time of 13 weeks, they can send a letter to their GP asking to invoke right to choose.
This means people can choose to go through a private supplier with a lower waiting list, as long as it is approved by the NHS.
Right to Choose is not just for those seeking an autism assessment, but for anyone who gets a GP referral for any medical issue.
The private suppliers offer the NHS tariff services, so it costs the same amount for the NHS to use the private suppliers as it would to use their own services.
Chris Stocks, former Practice Manager at Grenoside Surgery in Sheffield, explained: “It's still seen as an NHS service. It’s not as though you’re jumping in the queue because you're going private.”
He added that more people have brought up Right to Choose to their GPs, having done their own research before being referred for an assessment.
“It’s very new – It only came onto my desk in the last six to eight months.”
At the same time, the use of private suppliers has opened up a “grey area” in post-diagnosis support, because not all private suppliers offer NHS services after the patient is diagnosed.
When someone is diagnosed through the NHS, the GP receives a report informing them of the diagnosis and any possible medications, and there would be annual reviews of their condition.
Despite the number of people seeking an autism diagnosis looking to use Right to Choose, some have reported that their GPs did not know it existed.
Lois Delaney, a mental health nurse who was diagnosed with ADHD and is seeking an autism diagnosis, said her GP did not know about Right to Choose, and had to go away to do some research into it before he allowed her to go through with it.
“I fear if I wouldn't have brought it up, I would have still been on the waiting list now for the ADHD diagnosis.” she said.
Under the Health and Social Care Act 2022, NHS service providers must ensure that their staff have completed the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training, which is the standardised training on how to treat people with autism and learning disabilities.
Private services for autism and ADHD diagnoses have come under fire, particularly after the BBC’s Panorama undercover investigation on ADHD came out last May.
The documentary, where a journalist went undercover to seek an ADHD diagnosis from a private clinic, criticised private services for “rushing” the process and giving out “unreliable” diagnoses.
Lexy commented that the stigma attached to using private services through right to choose intensified after the documentary was released.
“It meant that people like me, who had used Right to Choose, had people in their life questioning their diagnosis.
“Nobody will question someone's health like they question someone's mental health, and I’ve had people I don’t even know openly question my health.”
Lexy works at the Burton Street Foundation, a disability support charity in Sheffield, which has set up a neurodiversity peer-support group to help with both day-to-day issues and advocating for people to get further support.
“Because of the peer-support group, I have now supported others in going to a doctor and they are now in the Right to Choose pathway. They never would have been able to do that on their own.”
“But it shouldn’t be on people like me to do that, there should be support within the NHS.”
Good morning from the Sheffield Wire news room
With first results expected at 11.30am, we'll be bringing you the latest from across Sheffield and Barnsley this morning.
There are 29 seats up for grabs in Sheffield and 21 in Barnsley.
It's been a bleak night for the Tories across the country, but in Sheffield all eyes are on Labour and Lib Dem. Labour are still the largest party in the Steel City but hold just one more seat than the Lib Dems, meaning no party is in overall control.
Labour have lost eight seats in Sheffield since the 2023 election after seven long-standing councillors formed the Sheffield Community Councillors group. Abtisam Mohammed also stepped down from her Firth Park ward so she can stand as an MP in the next GE.
Barnsley is currently a Labour council, with 48 of the total 63 seats held by the party.
More to come throughout the morning.
Nationwide UK study shows deaf people far more likely to die with Covid-19 during pandemic
An alarming official study has shown deaf people were more than 1.3 times as likely to die with Covid during the pandemic.
This figure, in a report from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), is after adjusting for other factors that could increase a person’s risk of death involving Covid such as geographical area and vaccination status.
Young people who are deaf also had a marked increase in mortality rate.
Addressing the disparity, the report says: “While no single factor explains this outstanding risk of Covid-19-related death, pre-existing conditions and hospital admissions explained a large part of the differences seen between people with a sensory impairment and people for whom no such impairment was found.”
Kevin Munro, Professor of Audiology at the University of Manchester and Director of the Manchester Centre for Audiology and Deafness, said it was likely that being deaf was linked to other risk factors such as lower socio-economic status and difficulty communicating with medical professionals, rather than being deaf had contributing directly to death involving Covid.
He said: “These are more likely to be markers of other problems, not caused by being deaf in itself. We simply don’t know what these markers are.”
The study also showed heightened mortality rates for people who are blind or both blind and deaf.
People who are deaf or have hearing loss are known to be at increased risk medically. Deafness has several well established connections to conditions such as dementia which people who are deaf or have hearing loss are more likely to develop.
Prof Munro said: “There's also a well-known association between sensory deprivation - so a problem with your ears or your eyes - and cognitive ability and dementia.
“That's not to say that it's hearing loss that causes dementia. We just don't know which one causes which, but they certainly co-occur together. So it means someone's at high risk.”
Professor Kevin Munro, Professor of Audiology, Director of the Manchester Centre for Audiology and Deafness. Source: Prof. Kevin Munro
People who are deaf are at a higher risk of becoming socially isolated which can be due to difficulties communicating, which can lead them to develop mental health issues.
Prof Munro said: “The obvious thing we think about is people's inability to communicate with ease at work or with friends, but it can have knock-on effects and lead to anxiety, stress, isolation, loneliness and mental health problems.”
“If you've got hearing loss, you're at a higher risk of having more of these sorts of problems.”
A total of 12 million adults in the UK live with hearing loss, but the Royal National Institute for Deaf People estimates this will increase to 14.2 million with hearing loss greater than 25 decibels (dB) by 2035.
Data gathered by Prof Munro suggests the number of people with hearing loss in the UK may already be as high as approximately one in three people if people with hearing loss of 20dB are included.
While this level has been considered to be normal hearing loss related to ageing in the past, Prof Munro included these people in his study explaining: “That number has excluded the people who might have a hearing loss in only one ear. The assumption tends to be as long as one of your ears is good, you're okay.
“But actually, if you have a problem with one of your ears, it means you immediately have problems with background noise, you probably can't tell where sounds are coming from. If you have a problem with one ear, it's going to affect your ability to communicate.”
Despite these issues for deaf people being well evidenced, there has been little research into what causes these patterns as funding is lacking due to a lack of comprehensive data. To address this Prof Munro suggests that better record keeping is the key to finding a solution for people with hearing loss.
He said: “I am sure it's under-reported. If you go to see the doctor and you've got a hearing impairment, they're human like you and me and they probably think that's natural ageing and it won't be recorded.”
To address this, Prof Munro advocates for a centralised system to ensure up-to-date information is available to researchers to apply for funding for health and social care and to have access to data for research.
Although there is appetite among audiologists in the NHS to research deafness’ connection to other illnesses, there are practical realities that present a barrier to this happening.
Prof Munro said: “They're chasing long patient waiting lists and don't really get the opportunity and probably research is not valued.”
To find solutions to healthcare issues such as this Prof Munro suggests that research should be embedded into the NHS as an accepted part of a professional's workload.
“People working in the NHS can identify what the research priorities are, they see people on a Monday morning and know what the priorities are.
“They're very motivated to find the answer to their questions. But they really don't have much opportunity right now because of the challenges that the NHS faces.”
Raising awareness of the challenges that deaf people face in everyday life is necessary to head-off these issues, as the number of people who are deaf or live with hearing loss will continue to grow, increasing the number of people at risk.
Prof Munro said: “It's a sort of hidden disability. Unless it happens to you, or you're living with someone who's got a hearing impairment, you don't readily appreciate the impact it can have on the quality of someone's life.
“If you want to improve quality of life, if you want to help people have independent, good quality lives, looking after or helping their hearing is going to be key to it.
“We live in a communication era. If you can’t communicate very easily, you’re put at a disadvantage from the very beginning.
“That's only going to increase over time with a growing and ageing population.”
‘Every Deaf child has the right to learn music’: musical education as integral to finding Deaf identity
According to a National Deaf Children’s Society report in 2023, 77% of Deaf school-aged children in the UK are in mainstream schools with UK Charity Feel the Music stating that d/Deaf children are often removed from mainstream music lessons due to a lack of resources for teachers to teach them.
The term d/Deaf refers to people with either partial hearing loss (lower case d) or with a complete inability to hear since birth or pre-speech (capital D).
Troi Lee, the founder and Artistic Director of Deaf Rave combats this with his outreach programmes of DJ workshops for Deaf children in mainstream and Deaf schools.
He says: “The key is music lessons as there are some schools that do exclude Deaf children from learning music. It’s purely because the government wants Deaf children to focus on English and Maths but speaking as a Deaf person that's our weakness.
“What I'm trying to do, as we speak, is to change that mindset to promote that every Deaf child has the right to learn whatever subject they want, and music should be one of them.”
Music festival and venue accessibility has blown up in the last three years, the DJ known as ‘DJ Chinaman’ explains, which has worked in the company's favour.
He says: “Our specialist UK talents love doing this to inspire the younger generation. If Deaf people can do it, they can do it. We want to champion our Deaf Rave collective as great role models.
“I want to motivate as many Deaf people in what they do and keep inspiring them, whether it's music or education. We just keep pushing because the majority of us have a hard life. It's always a problem one after the other. It doesn't go away.”
The founder explains that it is vitally important that Deaf people keep informing whoever they’re communicating with, their communication preferences.
He says: “Education 20 years ago didn't have that in place but nowadays it's much better. I'm 50 years old now and I'm the only one out of my siblings that never went to university. The reason why I didn't go was because I couldn’t process information in education wherever I was. So you can imagine all those Deaf people that missed out on all that information.
“Education is the key to the whole story. Now my mission goal is to try and get as many Deaf schools to teach DJing workshops. DJing is a very unique and technical skill but for d/Deaf people that don't want to rely on the ears, we can rely on the eyes. DJing is perfect because it's all visuals.”
Despite having never attended University, Mr Lee is being awarded an honorary masters degree at Falmouth University which the DJ with a career spanning 20 years will be picking up in July.
He says: “The hearing aid technology has definitely improved. I've always spoken, but that's only because my mum was my speech therapist from day one.
“I had to practise speech every day because she was worried about how I would communicate when I get older. I'll never forget those days, I have to thank my mum for lip reading and pronouncing the words over and over. It was very important for me growing up so that I can communicate now.”
Mr Lee explains that people cannot expect everyone to have the same level of Deafness but a lot of the cochlear implant generation can talk and hear music.
He says: “The problem is that Deaf people are a hard to reach community. We're very isolated. A lot of them, especially the cochlear implant users, are not really sure of their Deaf identity.
“Growing up the majority went to Deaf schools and colleges, and Deaf pubs and clubs. It was all vibrant back in the day. Now most of them are shut down and all the Deaf children are in the mainstream schools. So it's just a question for them to find their Deaf identity until Deaf Rave finds them.”
21-year-old Tom Warnke was born Deaf but is fully oral due to his cochlear implants and speech therapy when he was younger and attended a mainstream school in Macclesfield where he is from. As part of the cochlear implant generation, Tom shared the impact of music on helping him with speech therapy.
According to Music and the Deaf, a UK charity dedicated to enabling people with hearing loss to access music, there are around 45,000 d/Deaf children living in the country with very few having access to any kind of musical education.
Teacher of the Deaf at Lower Meadow Primary school in Sheffield, which is equipped with its own ‘Hearing Impaired Unit’, Linette France says that all staff are included for music and that as a whole many of their Deaf children enjoy music.
The integrated resource coordinator, Ms France says: “We have fantastic signers and they translate the music but it's tricky because sometimes when you sign lyrics, you might not get the correct words with the signing because, for example, you can have three signs for one word. So, we have to tread carefully with the lyrics of the words to make sure we've got the content of the sign language correct.”
Lower Meadow Primary principal, Jane Dawtry says: “We're focused quite heavily on making sure that the children are completely inclusive in the other subjects. Music is one of those ones where we are continuing to develop on that.”
For more about Deaf Rave see the Netflix documentary ‘Turn Up The Bass’ on YouTube.
Live coverage from 9am
Amy Britton and Kate McCusker will be updating this live feed with all of the latest news from the election counts in Sheffield and Barnsley. Alongside local coverage, we will be reporting on the political outlook of the UK as a whole and what this could mean for the upcoming General Election.
Ollie Potts and Peter Spriggs will be reporting live from the count in Sheffield.
David Hall, Richard McLaughlin and Jack Hunter will be reporting live from the count in Barnsley.
“Security and stability” – but are rising costs and the UK jobs market undermining the Graduate Visa?
Despite their hopes of creating a better life in the UK, some international students are being left financially and emotionally crippled by changes to the Graduate Visa.
The two-year long visa has provided many international students with an extra layer of stability that is attractive to UK employers. However, other students, who have already paid all of the upfront costs, have had to return to their home country owing to the UK's job crisis.
The visa allows international graduates to stay in the UK for up to two years after completing their studies. But in order to stay in the UK after these two years, graduates are then expected to find an employer who can afford to sponsor a Skilled Worker Visa.
After graduating from her Masters in Digital Heritage in 2022, Eliza Joy Hibionada has been able to create a new life for herself in the UK.
Eliza originally came to the UK to study a Masters in International Relations at the University of Glasgow in 2015 when the international students were given only six months to find a job that would sponsor their work visa. She had to go back to her home in America after being unable to find a job within the six month period.
After studying for her second Masters at the University of York in 2021, Eliza was able to stay in the country this time. The government had extended the Graduate Visa to last two years.
She said: “What got me the job a lot sooner was the Graduate Visa. When I was interviewing for jobs, they were concerned about how I was going to stay in the UK past my student visa. I told them about the Graduate Visa and that’s why I got the job.
“If I didn’t have it, or if it was non-existent, I think I probably would’ve gone home.”
The extended Graduate Visa offers extra stability for both students and employers. She said: “Security is really a massive factor in decision-making for employers to accept you.”
Alongside higher course fees, when applying for the Graduate Visa, international students face a variety of upfront costs. In addition to the £822 application fee, international students are expected to pay a healthcare surcharge, which can range from £1,000 to £3,000 depending on how long a student is planning to stay in the UK.
What many UK residents don’t realise is that international students are responsible for a lot of NHS funding. According to Universities UK’s analysis of new data, only 3% of the British public realise the economic contribution that international students make to the NHS through the surcharge every year.
These fees have slowly been increasing over the last few years making it more difficult for international students to apply for a visa. Eliza added: “It was already difficult to find a job to sponsor you because the fees are massive but now that they’ve increased it even more, it’s now even more difficult to find a sponsor.”
Aside from the financial benefits that international students bring to the UK, they also open up opportunities for people to share their culture. The rich variety of multicultural societies that universities are home to allow students to become more open-minded.
Eliza said: “It provides diversity. I think a community can only grow when it's a melting pot because the greatest minds come from all over the world. It's not just coming from one country.
“Culturally, it's different here than it is in America or from here, versus China or India, so we can definitely help and teach each other because it's also about broadening our horizons and opening our minds to other perspectives.
“Whether we like to admit it or not, the world is changing and the world is evolving. We cannot stay back in the 1800s or 1900s and that single narrow-minded way of thinking things.
“Sharing cultures not only helps us grow as individuals but as a community as well.”
A lot of university societies are run by international students and revolve around sharing culture. With fewer international students considering studying in the UK, the social side of university life could be damaged.
Hesandi Jayasekara, a graduate from Sri Lanka, explained the importance of having cultural societies and how interacting with international students is enriching for everyone involved.
She said: “Discouraging international students from coming to the UK, it’s going to mostly impact the community because I know a lot of people who come to other countries to build their community and also people from that country, they love meeting people from other countries.”
The Labour MP for Sheffield Central, Paul Blomfield, has been vocal about his support for university students in the area and across the UK. When asked about what restricting access to the Graduate Visa says about the current government, he said: “They’re sending out a message and it is not a reflection of where our universities are or where our communities are - that they’re not welcome in the country. And that’s absolutely not the case.”
Mr Blomfield expressed how by being welcoming to international students, the UK not only is enriched culturally, but it helps to solidify our relationships with cities around the world.
The Government’s plans to make it harder for international students to stay in the UK after studying will not only discourage them from applying to university but will affect those currently in the UK.
When asked about how possibly removing the Graduate Visa would affect people, Eliza said: “I think it’s a disservice to all of the international students. We’re helping the economy. We’re helping put money into the country, may it be through jobs, through something as simple as buying groceries or buying a car.
The country is being funded by international students. So getting rid of the Graduate Visa would just be a massive disservice to all the students that are here.”
However, unlike Eliza’s success story, other students have not been so lucky.
Despite paying all of the upfront costs for a Graduate Visa, Hesandi had to go back to Sri Lanka after struggling to find a job.
She said: “I do have a Graduate Visa but when I tell employers, they won’t really consider you over a local student because they don’t want to sponsor your visa afterwards.
“It was definitely not sustainable for me to stay in the UK because there was no opportunity to actually have a proper job.”
Originally, Hesandi was going to stay in the UK for two years on the visa and work to be able to fund a Masters course. However, with visas costing more for students and employers, this option is no longer viable. Many students, including Hesandi, are now considering other countries to complete their studies.
Hesandi added: “A lot of the international students are from Asian countries and they only come to the UK because they think they have an opportunity to stay.
“There are other countries who give that opportunity so why would students not go there instead?”
Woman unable to try for baby after being spiked with heroin
A 33-year-old woman has claimed she was unable to try for a baby after being spiked with heroin at a Leeds club.
The victim was allegedly left unconscious in a locked toilet for hours before being rescued by a friend.
She called the police the next day and then underwent medical treatment to assess whether she had been sexually assaulted.
She said: “I had to take medication for HIV because they didn’t know what had happened to me. It completely stopped my life. My partner and I wanted to try for a baby and we couldn’t because of the medication.”
On the night she was allegedly spiked, earlier this year, the woman had been socialising at the club which had connections with her place of work.
Her last memory is dancing and playing drinking games. The next thing the woman remembers is waking up at home with no idea how she got there.
After contacting a friend, who is a nurse, she encouraged her to call the police who completed a test which found heroin and sedatives in her system. She also attended the Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) to undergo tests.
The woman had worked with the owners of the establishment where she was allegedly assaulted for over five years but claimed she has been blamed and not supported.
She reported the incident to The Egalitarian, a group campaigning to make spiking a stand-alone offence, who contacted the venue for a response. The alleged victim then received a phone call telling her she had ‘made the venue look bad’.
“What happened to me was awful and I didn’t go out for ages afterwards. They’ve made it out like I’ve exaggerated it," she said. "Out of everything that is probably the most upsetting. It’s one of the biggest blows. What happened to me was awful and I didn’t go out for ages afterwards.
“It’s just really disappointed me because I’ve worked with them for a very long time, and the lack of support, the victim-blaming, is why I’m not working for them anymore. They’ve made out I’m the problem.”
Police confirmed they had made an arrest and the man is now on police bail, pending an ongoing investigation.
She said: “I got asked by my victim support worker if I felt safe, and I don’t really because the person that they have arrested, I don’t know what he looks like, and I don’t know his name.
“It’s good that he’s on bail and he can’t contact me, but I wouldn’t know if he did, so that’s been a massive thing that I felt was really unfair.”
A spokesperson for West Yorkshire Police said: "Following enquiries by specialist safeguarding detectives a man was arrested in connection with the matter. He was released on police bail pending continuing investigation. Officers continue to update and support the victim."
If you’ve been spiked here’s what to do
Police received 6,732 reports of spiking and 957 relating to needle spiking during the year to April 2023 - according to the latest government data.
The Metropolitan Police have given the following guidance if you or a friend feel that you have been spiked. If you are in immediate danger or are injured, you should call 999 immediately.
- It is important to act quickly if you think you have been spiked. If all preventative measures have failed and you believe that you or a friend are in danger, you should immediately tell a responsible friend or adult.
- You should inform a staff member of the venue you’re in and give them any information you can remember about events leading up to the spiking.
- If you have been spiked you will be vulnerable, and should not go home on your own, or leave without informing your friends of your whereabouts. As a rule, you should be supervised at all times.
- Some clubs participate in the ‘Ask for Angela’, a code phrase scheme which informs trained bar staff that they feel uncomfortable and unsafe. Often, you can find out whether the venue you’re in participates by going into a bathroom stall, and looking at the poster in the door if there is one.
- If you or a friend feels unwell, you should contact A&E and tell them that you or a friend have been spiked. If you have been injected with a needle, you should get tested for HIV and hepatitis.
- Acting as soon as possible offers the best chance to get results with the police and at the hospital. Drugs can leave your body as quickly as 12 hours, and once they have it will be hard to retrieve a sample for testing.
- The police and hospital staff may ask you for a blood or urine sample. If you are concerned you have been sexually assaulted, they might also refer you to a sexual assault referral centre (SARC), where they can undertake forensic testing.
The true cost of the international student crisis revealed
The Home Office’s tightening of visa rules have plunged international students, universities and local businesses into financial uncertainty and anxiety.
Many say the crisis has the potential to ruin young lives, destroy the international reputation of UK education, and bankrupt universities across the country.
International student enrolment in UK universities has dropped dramatically this year in the wake of huge shifts in Home Office visa policy.
In December, Rishi Sunak announced a huge hike in the salary level required to apply for a Skilled Worker Visa, from £26,200 to £38,700.
Universities UK, which represents 142 institutions across the country, reported that international student enrolment into postgraduate taught programmes is down 40% in 2024 as a result.
Last month, Home Secretary James Cleverly went further, asking the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) to conduct a “rapid review” into the Graduate Visa, a post-study visa that currently allows recent graduates to live and work in the UK for two to three years.
The visa changes have left UK international students feeling hopeless, uncertain, and afraid.
A Colombian student who has built a life in the UK - with a job she loves, a partner, and a home, is now facing the possibility she'll be forced to abandon her dreams.
A young gay man from the Middle East fears that he'll have to go back to a country where he must hide his sexuality.
A Sri Lankan graduate who paid £1,000s up front for a Graduate Visa but was unable to find a job that would sponsor her, and has had to leave.
A French woman with Indefinite Leave to Remain still feels she'll "never be good enough for England."
One young Indian mother who took out a loan and sold her most precious belongings to come study for a Masters in UK, and now is worried that she'll have no choice but to return to India.
And many universities are also adopting a mobile phone app that allows an outside company to track and store student location data, which could then be used to deport international students.
International students contribute £41.9bn to the UK economy each year which means every person in the UK is £560 richer because of them.
According to Labour MP for Sheffield Central Paul Blomfield, the city's economy will be negatively affected if international student numbers dwindle. The economic impact is particularly severe for cities with more than one university, such as Sheffield, Manchester, and Liverpool.
The Migration Observatory reports that in the academic year of 2021/2022, international tuition made up more than a fifth of the total income of UK universities. Losing that income would send many universities spiralling into financial difficulties.
Anti-spiking charity demands change in laws
The UK’s first anti-spiking charity is calling for the government to make spiking a standalone offence.
Despite the huge increase of spiking in clubs and bars, there is no single law for the act - instead it is prosecuted in conjunction with another crime.
Spike Aware UK’s aim is to challenge the outdated spiking laws in the UK, the majority of which are based on legislation that is over 160 years old.
Last week, Sir Keir Starmer announced if Labour won the next general election, his party would push to make spiking a standalone offence.
Colin Mackie, who founded Spike Aware UK, with his wife, Mandy after their son died from drink spiking, said: “If we can get a standalone law, every police force will need to act in the same way. There will be procedures in place which they will all have to follow. At the moment it's not being taken seriously enough."
One spiking law that has been updated, since the 1861 legislation was introduced, under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, made spiking with ‘intent to engage in a non-consensual sexual activity’ punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment.
Mr Mackie is calling on the government to update the laws and make the act of spiking in itself a punishable offence, regardless of intent of the offender.
He claims there needs to be changes in the way cases are handled by the police, explaining if someone was assaulted on a night out, the police would immediately demand CCTV and to speak to witnesses, but in cases of spiking, they are nowhere near as reactive.
He said he had spoken to a victim’s father who picked his daughter up from a nightclub after she was spiked. The father went into the club, found his daughter and carried her out without being challenged by a single member of staff at the venue.
The victim’s father said what he was really concerned about was the fact he felt that anyone could have done this while his daughter was extremely vulnerable.
Mr Mackie also pointed out spiking happens to both men and women. He said: “We know of a male victim, who said the police laughed at him and said ‘it doesn’t happen to men’, when he said he’d been spiked.
“That to me is the problem. Not acting quick enough, not having a deterrent.”
He also called for greater coordination between hospitals and the police to deal with spiking victims. He explained victims are dismissed as being drunk rather than actually being drugged, meaning they do not get the blood tests they need.
Most drug testing needs to be done within 72 hours, but Mr Mackie said if victims are bounced between police and hospitals, any traces of the drug in their blood leave the body.
“One girl we spoke to had been taken to A&E, and when they got there they kept her in overnight but they told her she needed to her GP to get a blood test," said Mr Mackie. "It was five days before she got a GP appointment, so if there were any drugs in her system they were gone.”
The charity also offers judgement free advice and support for spiking victims. While they said they do not pressure victims to speak to the police, they believe the more people do the more awareness will be raised.