A woman who felt like she was "dying" after having her drink spiked at a Brisbane nightclub says a hospital denied her a toxicology test because she wasn't sexually assaulted.
The professional, aged in her late 20s, is the latest person to highlight deficiencies in the way authorities respond to drink spiking.
The woman, who asked to remain anonymous, went to a night club in inner-city Fortitude Valley in late January 2023 with a group of friends.
She said she had consumed about four alcoholic drinks between 10pm and 4am when she left the club "almost completely sober" after having been pestered by a man who was being "touchy feely" and asking her to go back to his house.
Before the woman got away from him and left, she had a drink of water she suspects was spiked.
Less than an hour after returning home she was unable to move, was in a lot of pain and couldn't speak.
"I was lying on my bed and I couldn't walk, I couldn't go to the bathroom," she said.
"I knew it was not normal."
Later that day she went to the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital for treatment.
She also asked for a toxicology test to find out what she had been drugged with — both for her own information and to help report the spiking to police.
"And their response was, 'Was there any unwanted sexual contact?' Basically, had I been raped?," she said.
Loading...She said she told staff she had gotten away from the man who had been harassing her "just in time".
"They said, 'Because this wasn't a rape, we can't test you'."
A Queensland Health spokesperson said emergency departments assess and care for patients "based on the symptoms they present with" and "it is not necessary to confirm drink spiking".
"Patients who believe they may have experienced drink spiking can access a forensic test once they are discharged from the hospital," they said.
'The first person to actually believe me was my GP'
Still wanting to report the spiking, the woman went home and called both Policelink and 13HEALTH.
On advice from police, the next day she went to a station to report the spiking in person.
After being interviewed and making a police report — seen by ABC News — the woman was told to see a GP to arrange testing.
"The first person to actually believe me was my GP," she said.
He gave her a referral for a general drug screen, often used by employers to test for common illicit substances like cocaine and opiates.
By the time the test had been done at a pathology centre, almost 72 hours had passed since the spiking and nothing was detected in her system.
"It had been so long by the time I could find someone who was willing to do those tests for me," she said.
Royal Australian College of General Practitioners chair Dr Lara Roeske said there are "gaps" in the testing process for people who've been spiked.
"There is no established process for drink spiking testing in primary care settings," she said.
"At present, there are specialised services and centres that are accredited to collect samples."
Dr Roeske said while GPs can order urine drug screens, "they are not designed to test for ketamine and GHB" — substances that can be used for drink spiking.
The Melbourne-based doctor said spiking can be "an extraordinarily harrowing and destabilising experience".
"I think there are enormous opportunities for the health and policing systems to take a long hard look at how to overcome barriers for testing," she said.
Reporting processes 'traumatic'
The woman said trying to report her drink spiking was "a very traumatic experience".
"The whole process took me over 12 hours to complete across three days in phone calls to various institutions for information, giving reports, interviews and medical appointments," she said.
"People who want to drink spike are getting away with it because no-one is wanting to report it."
Despite anecdotal information suggesting spiking is reasonably common, only seven people went to court charged with the crime of unlawful drink spiking in Queensland between July 2021 and May 2024, according to the Department of Justice.
The Queensland Police Service (QPS) said it could not provide information on the prevalence of drink spiking because the way it records data "does not allow for individual instances of spiking either by needle or by drink to be recorded through these terms".
But a spokesperson said the QPS "remains committed to refining and enhancing the police response to drink spiking reports", and encouraged anyone who believed they'd been spiked to "report the matter to police as soon as possible".
Police Minister Mark Ryan said anyone who goes to police with an allegation that a crime has been committed "can be assured" officers "will conduct thorough investigations".
"If anyone has any complaints there's appropriate pathways to make those complaints," Mr Ryan said.
'Women should feel safe', minister says
In a statement, Queensland Health Minister Shannon Fentiman said every woman should feel safe when they are out in public, "whether they are consuming alcohol or not".
"Emergency staff within our hospitals are trained to provide immediate treatment for presentations related to drugs or alcohol, which includes suspected drink spiking, even if the specific substance is unknown," Ms Fentiman said.
"We're always happy to work with police to make sure that we're aware of hotspots in our community and provide that care."
Despite her experience, the woman said other victims should contact police about drink spiking if they can.
"The girls in my group, most of them have been drink spiked before — it's more common than is being reported," she said.