Claims sexual intercourse was consensual 

A 30-year-old anesthesia technician who was accused of raping a patient attendant on April 5 night at the national referral hospital has confessed to having a sexual intercourse with the 28-year-old patient attendant after injecting her with Fentanyl.

However, the technician at the operating theatre (OT) claims that it was consensual and the injection was to calm her apprehension.

Fentanyl is an opioid which is used as a pain medication and together with other medications for anesthesia. It is commonly used before and after surgery.

On April 6, a hospital staff informed police that a woman from Paro reported a case of suspected sexual abuse on her by a staff nurse.

Dr Norbu said the forensic test result was inconclusive. “From medical side, there is only so much we can do,” he said.

According to police, On April 5, a duty nurse at the hospital’s surgical ward where the woman’s patient was admitted asked her to go near the OT to draw blood between 11pm and midnight.

A police official said that the duty nurse received a call from the OT to send the patient attendant near the OT.

According to the woman’s statement to police, a male health staff in a blue scrub she met near the OT took her to a room previously used as a pre-anesthetic check-up room. She was told that her patient needs blood transfusion and she needs to do a blood test.

He first checked her blood pressure and then drew blood from her through a cannula. After that she said that she remembered the suspect injecting a white fluid after which she became unconscious.

She told police that when she became conscious, she found herself sitting on a waiting chair at the corridor of the hospital’s Level 2. She reported feeling drowsy, blurred vision and also vomited on the floor. She called for help when she saw a woman nearby. The woman, a doctor took her to the emergency ward.

The suspect and the woman don’t know each other. However, a police official said that they might have met briefly during the patient’s surgery.

The suspect tested negative for controlled substance.

Police said that the suspect has previously stolen a television monitor from the hospital. The case was resolved internally and he returned the screen to the hospital.

Dechen Tshomo