A woman was told she could have HIV after a doctor accidentally performed an intimate exam on her with a swab that had already been used on someone else’s genitals.
The 40-year-old woman, whose name has not been released, visited her GP in Batley, West Yorkshire, in December 2022 for a vaginal examination for an existing health problem.
But after performing the test, she was given the terrifying news that the swab had previously been used on someone else.
The mother of one of the children was “extremely upset and scared” when she was informed that as a result of the “serious mistake” she could have been infected with blood-borne diseases including HIV and hepatitis.
She complained about her experience at the doctor’s surgery but after being dissatisfied with his response, she took the case to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO), an independent body that investigates complaints about government departments and the NHS.
The 40-year-old woman, who remains unnamed, visited her GP in Batley, West Yorkshire, in December 2022 for a vaginal examination for an existing health condition. After the examination was carried out, she was told the swab had previously been used on someone else.
The woman had to wait three months before she could be tested for HIV, as it can take up to three months after HIV infection for antibodies to appear in the blood, meaning a test before that time could be inaccurate.
“When I heard that they had already used the swab and that I would have to be tested for HIV and hepatitis, I was very upset and scared,” she said.
‘I was in shock and worried about what this could mean for my health.
‘It was a huge mistake and I still can’t understand how it happened. I accept that humans make mistakes, but the way the practice dealt with it was appalling. They were apathetic and didn’t understand what I had been through.
“The mistake was serious enough at first, but the subsequent care was even worse. That’s why I reported it to the Ombudsman, as no one acknowledged the anguish I suffered for three months.”
The woman was forced to wait three months before she could get tested for HIV and learned that the results were negative.
Fortunately, the results were negative for blood-borne diseases.
HIV, which affects around 105,200 people in the UK according to the National AIDS Trust, damages immune system cells and weakens the body’s ability to fight off everyday infections and illnesses.
The virus is transmitted through bodily fluids (such as semen, vaginal and anal fluids, blood, and breast milk) of an infected person. However, it cannot be transmitted through sweat, saliva, or urine.
It is most commonly transmitted through anal or vaginal sex without a condom.
Similarly, hepatitis is usually transmitted through blood-to-blood contact of an infected person.
Poor healthcare practices and unsafe medical injections are the main way it spreads outside the UK, according to the NHS.
The Health Ombudsman for England, which investigated the incident, is urging GPs to be vigilant to ensure infection prevention and control processes are followed to ensure this does not happen again.
The practice had since apologized to the woman and said it had taken steps to prevent similar mistakes in the future.
But the PHSO concluded that the practice had not done enough to acknowledge its failing and correct it.
He recommended that the practice pay the woman £500 in recognition of the suffering caused. The GP practice has now complied.
Ombudsman Rebecca Hilsenrath said: “We all know that mistakes happen. There is always the potential for human error in any profession.
“Fortunately, in this case, this serious error had no medical repercussions.”
She added: ‘The focus of our investigation was the impact on the patient. For three months she had to live with the uncertainty of whether she might be suffering from a serious illness, with all the implications that entailed for her own life and that of her son.
“The firm failed to address this issue and it needed to be corrected. The firm has now acknowledged its mistakes and has taken steps to ensure that the same mistake does not happen again. This demonstrates the power of reporting to resolve issues like this.”