A Victorian mother has pleaded for authorities to do more to help suspected victims of drink spiking after her daughter became seriously ill.
Anne* said her daughter believed she first had her drink spiked at a music festival when she was 18 years old.
Two weeks ago, the now 23-year-old nurse went out for drinks with her friends, texting her mum throughout the night with regular updates.
"It was around midnight when I received a phone call from my daughter's friends that they'd called an ambulance," Anne said.
Not long after that call, Anne was told her daughter was throwing up excessively and could not hold herself upright.
The young woman was taken by ambulance to the Ballarat Base Hospital's emergency department because her breathing was compromised.
"She was then treated with fluids but no blood was taken [to test for substances] because we were told that was a police matter," Anne said.
"We were also spoken to by both the nurses and the doctor at the hospital who said they had six other girls present that night with the same symptoms.
"When we went to the police to report what happened, they told us none of those other six incidents had been reported.
"My question is, why aren't hospitals reporting to the police?"
Rise in cases
Grampians Health, which oversees Ballarat Base Hospital, could not confirm whether seven women presented with drink spiking on the night of August 20.
However, it did report that over the past three months it had noticed a "significant increase in patients presenting with possible drink spiking symptoms.
"Any patients presenting with symptoms of intoxication are treated for their symptoms until they are well," a spokeswoman said.
"Patients suspecting their drink was spiked are encouraged to report to Victoria Police."
Victoria Police would not comment on Anne's daughter's case, but said drink spiking cases were "thoroughly investigated".
"Divisional Licensing Units are regularly engaged with their local hospitality businesses and local liquor accords to ensure safe practices," a spokesperson said.
Push for stronger protocols
Anne said she wanted to see more protocols in place to combat drink spiking.
"Anyone that [goes to the hospital] that looks like they've been spiked should be reported," she said.
"We made every effort to ensure my daughter's blood was tested but were told it was a police matter.
"Hospital blamed the police, the police blamed the hospital, and in effect no blood was taken.
"Something needs to be done because someone is going to die and that's my biggest concern."
Issue under-reported, expert says
Adjunct professor at the National Drug and Alcohol Institute Nicole Lee said the symptoms of drink spiking could vary depending on what substance was used.
"You might feel light-headed, faint, sick, very tired, or much more drunk than you're expecting given how much you actually drank," Dr Lee said.
She said it surprised some people to learn that alcohol was the most common substance used to spike drinks.
"It's adding extra alcohol to someone's drink without them knowing," she said.
Dr Lee said there were a range of possible motivations for drink spiking, including sexual assault and pranking.
She said data was limited due to under-reporting but statistics showed women were more likely than men to have their drinks spiked.
"We think as many as four out of five victims are women," Dr Lee said.
According to the Australian Institute of Criminology, up to 4,000 incidents of drink spiking occurred nationally between 2002-2003.
*Anne requested her last name not be used to protect her daughter's identity.
