especially Tom, because I would never have read
it if it hadn't been about him and I would be continuing
to live in fear of what is different.
Laura Burnett, by email
Health workers are at risk
In your 'on the side' column (PN
July) you state that no patient in the UK has transmitted the virus
to a doctor or nurse. In fact a number of healthcare professionals have
contracted HIV via needlestick injuries from infected patients in this
country. I do not feel we should underestimate the small but significant
risk to healthcare staff performing invasive procedures on people with
HIV.
Helen Pritchitt, Clinical Nurse Specialist, St
George's Hospital, London SW17
[According to the PHLS, five confirmed cases of occupational transmission
of HIV from patient to healthcare worker have occurred in the UK, four
before 1992, and one in 1997 - ed.]
We do like Bournemouth
I read with some amazement the piece about the Royal Bournemouth Hospital
(RBH). I feel that people who are not attending RBH told you incorrect
facts. I have been an HIV patient at RBH since 1992. In all that time
I have received excellent service and support from the team there. HIV
patients are not mixed in with GUM patients and never have been, and the
clinic has always operated at the times when the GUM clinic is closed.
Doctors and staff outside London are fighting for better and more resources
and they need your support and help, not a kicking. I will continue to
page 2 of 4
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use and support my local HIV clinic at Bournemouth and thank them.
Mike Kennerley, Bournemouth
