Professional negligence claims to follow delayed AIDS diagnosis?

Published on 25 Jun 2010 under category: legal

More than 500 people could make claims for medical negligence after they were told to test for HIV, in case they had contracted it from a healthcare worker in the region.

The patients were informed two years after the possible incidents, This is East Hull and Riding has reported.

Hospitals in the Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust Areas are thought to have been implicated.

Speaking to the site, a spokesman for the NHS Trusts involved said that the lengthy delay was down to the hospital's uncertainty about whether patients needed to know.

"The delay was the result of an ongoing debate between the three Trusts, the Health Protection Agency and national bodies around the benefit of offering a blood test and the risk of causing concern among the cohort of patients," he said.

Many of the patients who had been contacted expressed concern about the manner in which the letters told they may need a test.

The subsequent stress of undergoing tests could lead to claims of professional negligence.

If you require advice on Professional Negligence please call us on +44 (0)20 7831 0101 and ask for Peter Mellett.