Compiled
and edited
by Martin Flynn
PC Andy Hewlett (right) with Andrew Little, director of Positive Futures at a ground-breaking seminar of the Lesbian and Gay Police Association last month. They presented the issue of HIV in the workplace to over 35 participants at Bramshill Police Staff College. Andy went public as the first openly HIV positive UK police officer in September 2000 - by appearing on the cover of Positive Nation. "The session was a great success," said Andrew Little. "It was aimed to help all the 43 UK police forces to adopt a fair and equitable policy to HIV positive employees."
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DoH to end HIV scares?
HIV positive heath workers in the NHS should no longer
be the subject of scare stories in the press, or result in worried patients
taking unnecessary HIV tests, if guidelines recommended by the Department
of Health (DoH) are adopted.
In the past, the discovery that a nurse or doctor has HIV has led to front-page
stories and the notification of thousands of patients.
Notification of the public would be restricted to cases where the recently
diagnosed worker's duties could have resulted in 'bleed-back' - defined
as "cases in which injury to the health care worker could result
in their blood contaminating the patient's open tissues".
In August, stories in The Times that HIV tests would be introduced as
a condition of employment for all staff joining the NHS from abroad were
denied by the DoH after running into fierce opposition from the nursing
profession.
There has never been a case of occupational HIV transmission from a health worker to a patient in the UK.
