HIV fears raised after doctor performed intimate exam on woman with cotton swab used on other patient’s genitals, complaint alleges

A woman was told she may have HIV after a doctor accidentally performed an intimate exam on her with a cotton swab that had previously been used on another person’s genitals.

The unnamed 40-year-old woman visited her GP in Batley, West Yorkshire, in December 2022 for a vaginal examination due to an existing health condition.

But after the test was done, she received the frightening news that the swab had previously been used on another person.

The mother of one was left “extremely upset and scared” when told the “serious error” could have exposed her to blood-borne diseases including HIV and hepatitis.

She complained about her experience to the doctor, but because she was unhappy with their response, she took the matter to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO), an independent body that investigates complaints about government services and the NHS.

The woman had to wait three months before she could be tested for HIV. That’s because it can take up to three months after HIV infection for antibodies to appear in the blood, meaning a test for it can be inaccurate.

“When I found out that the swab had already been used and that I had to undergo HIV and hepatitis testing, I was extremely upset and scared,” she said.

‘I was shocked and concerned about the implications for my health.

‘It was a serious mistake and I still can’t understand how it could have happened. I accept that people 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 bad enough in the first place, but the aftercare was even worse. That’s why I brought it to the attention of the Ombudsman, because there was no recognition of the misery I experienced for three months.’

Fortunately, the results were negative for the blood-borne diseases.

HIV, which affects about 105,200 people in the UK according to the National AIDS Trust, damages the cells in the immune system and weakens the body’s ability to fight everyday infections and diseases.

The virus spreads through the bodily fluids — such as semen, vaginal and anal fluids, blood, and breast milk — of an infected person. However, it cannot be spread through sweat, saliva, or urine.

The disease is usually transmitted through anal or vaginal sex without a condom.

Hepatitis is usually spread through blood contact with an infected person.

According to the NHS, poor healthcare practices and unsafe medical injections are the main causes of the spread outside the UK.

The UK Healthcare Ombudsman, who investigated the incident, is urging GPs to be vigilant and ensure infection prevention and control procedures are in place to prevent this happening again.

The practice had already apologized to the woman and said measures had been taken to prevent similar mistakes in the future.

But the PHSO concluded that the practice had not done enough to acknowledge and improve its shortcomings.

It advised the practice to pay the woman £500 in recognition of the distress caused, which the practice has now complied with.

Ombudsman Rebecca Hilsenrath said: ‘We all know that mistakes happen. There is always the possibility of human error in any profession.

‘Fortunately, in this case, this serious error had no medical consequences.’

She added: ‘The focus of our research was on the impact on the patient. For three months she had to live with the uncertainty of whether she might have a serious illness, with all the consequences for her own life and that of her child.

‘This was not addressed by the practice and needed to be put right. The practice has now acknowledged its shortcomings and taken steps to ensure the same mistake does not happen again. This shows the power of complaint in resolving these types of issues.’