Yorkshire hospital patients face tests in HIV scare

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/england/10377839.stm

More than 500 hospital patients in Yorkshire are being offered HIV tests after it emerged a healthcare worker who treated them had the virus. It affects the Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals Trust, Scarborough and North East Yorkshire Hospitals Trust and York Hospitals Foundation Trust. The letter also informed the people that the worker, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was removed from duties where there was a risk of the infection being transmitted. The individual no longer works in a role where there is any risk of blood-to-blood contact, the trust said. He added: "Recalling patients for testing is purely a precautionary measure. The risk to patients is extremely low." Letters have been sent to 371 patients in Hull and East Yorkshire, 47 in Scarborough and North East Yorkshire and 101 in York.

I think the hospital did the right thing by removing the individual from duties where there is any risk of blood-to-blood contact. Offering all the patients who were treated by this person an HIV test is something that speaks for itself. The alternative is to keep it quiet but if it comes out, the hospitals would ruin their reputation and then they would also risk some severe penalties. It might be a shock to the patients that they will receive the tests, but how often does a doctor have blood-to-blood contact with his patient? I think almost never. If the doctor took the right precautions, like wearing gloves and a scrub, there should be no problems.