I'm not very sure that HIV screening at only pre-employment stage for
EPP workers is best practice.
I am against once only testing for various reasons. Firstly, it is
only a snapshot of HIV status at that time and to be effective,
screening should happen regularly during employment. Secondly, doctors
and nurses undertaking EPP have a duty under their professional codes to
report if they are HIV positive or believe themselves to have had a risk
of infection. Also, the very low risk to patients versus cost of
screening may not make once only testing cost effective. Finally,
procedures should be in place to assess the risk to patients where they
are contaminated by a doctor or nurse's blood during an EPP procedure
(see The Blue Book) and if this happens, incidents can be managed on a
case by case basis including offering HIV PEP to exposed patients if
necessary.
I think that the department of health is averse to taking a risk
management approach for both HIV and hepatitis C but we'll see what
their advice is following publication of any new guidelines.
Paul
Paul D'Arcy,
Clinical Nurse Leader
Occupational Health
Hammersmith Hospitals NHS Trust
Developing And Supporting People To Make Healthcare Better
Direct Line 020 8383 3063 (Hammersmith)
020 8846 1134 (Charing Cross)
>>> [log in to unmask] 05/02/2007 >>>
Hi Helen,
In my Trust we are not yet screening for HIV pre-employment but I
imagine that it won't be long before the Department of Health
introduce
this as best practice!
Kind regards,
Rita
Rita E Ogden
Specialist Practitioner/Clinical Team Leader,
Occupational Health Service,
St. James's University Hospital
Tel: 0113 2065228
Leeds General Infirmary
Tel: 0113 3923267
>>> Paul/Helen Martin <[log in to unmask]> 03/02/2007
16:40 >>>
Hi there, I'm just trying to find out if other OH services (NHS) are
currently screening for HIV at pre-employment, for their EPPS.
Many Thanks
Helen
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