A grandmother faces a terrifying six-month wait to see if she has been infected by a dirty needle used for her flu jab.
A grandmother faces a terrifying six-month wait to see if she has been infected by a dirty needle used for her flu jab.Heather Johnson, 58, was horrified to be told the nurse who gave the injection had used a needle taken from a blister pack of used syringes.
It was only four days after the event that a doctor came to visit the mother-of-two and her husband Ian at their home in Chesterfield, Derbyshire.
There, he explained a nurse had put a pack of used needles back into the fridge – where unused vaccines are stored.
Mrs Johnson, who is a carer for her mother, is now worried she could be carrying blood-borne illnesses such as HIV or hepatitis.
After visiting the Rectory Road Medical Centre in Staveley, Derbyshire, for a routine appointment on November 13, she says she was asked if she wanted a flu jab and said yes.
But when administering the vaccination, the nurse accidentally injected her with a used needle.
Describing the event, Mrs Johnson said: ‘When the nurse went to give me the injection, she put the needle in my arm and said “Oh, it’s empty”.
‘She took another needle out and that was empty too. The nurse didn’t explain anything to me, just got out another pack and gave me the jab as normal.
‘I was worried I had been given an injection of air but the nurse said it was fine and I was sent on my way.”
We must hope this lady remains well, and that she is properly supported by competent healthcare professions, though what will be a difficult waiting period.
We might hope also that she is assisted by a good solicitor, and that the healthcare professionals responsible for this atrocious incident are put before their regulators.