Two separate investigations are underway into an alleged incident at St. Boniface General Hospital last week.
A review has been launched in to what happened, to prevent it from happening again.
Last Thursday, a patient at St. Boniface General Hospital was treated by non-medical staff.
"A member of our staff who is not a doctor, is not a nurse, is not a medical student, conducted an exam on a patient," said Winnipeg Regional Health Authority's Heidi Graham.
As soon as the hospital became aware of the incident, officials contacted police, the health region and a provincial health office that looks into reports of suspected abuse. The victim was also told.
"We also fully disclosed to the patient that we were aware and what had happened and explained to her the steps we had taken and offered the patient any supports to help her deal with the issue ," said Graham.
The incident has been declared critical, meaning a review is underway to determine what happened and what to do next. In addition to the health authority, the Winnipeg Police Service has launched its own investigation.
"I can't confirm that it is of a sexual nature but I will acknowledge that we are currently involved in an investigation," said Const. Jason Michalyshen of Winnipeg police.
This is the second such incident in just over a month. In July a woman, who was a member of the clearning staff at Concordia Hospital, was charged by police for sticking a swab in a patient's mouth. That charge was later dropped.
"We allow strangers to touch our bodies in intimate places because we trust the people doing this are trained, qualified, are bound by not just the law, but a professional code of ethics," said Arthur Schaeffer a University of Manitoba medical ethicist.
He said a situation involving the impersonation of a health care professional goes against the principles of medicine. Schaeffer adds that hospitals have to take every measure possible to prevent this from happening.
"They're going to have to look at the systems they have in place," he says. "In ensuring that cleaning staff or cooking staff or people that make your bed aren't easily able to get a doctor's coat or a nurse's smock."
Patients are advised all hospital staff wear photo tags with their name and position. Patients have the right to ask to see that if you, in any way, feel uncomfortable with the person they are dealing with, said officials.
The health region is calling this an isolated incident, but one it is taking very seriously. The employee in question is not working at the hospital right now.
-with a report from CTV's Ina Sidhu
