A serious epidemic was somewhat avoided at a New Hampshire hospital but not before 44 patients were infected with one of the worst diseases in the world today. Patients treated at Exeter Hospital's cardiac catheterization lab contracted hepatitis C thanks to a hospital employee’s drug addiction. The infected patients are reportedly furious at the hospital for not taking proper precautions in supervising its employees.
It is believed that the employee at fault has been taking drugs through hospital syringes and putting them back, only to be reused again unknowingly by other staff members. This issue goes far beyond the 44 infected patients because according to NECN.com, at least 1,100 patients could’ve been exposed to hepatitis C between October 2010 and May 25 2012.
One of the infected patients, who’s calling himself John Doe One, is filing a class action lawsuit along with the families of the other patients who were infected. "I’m pretty angry that (the hospital) had no procedures for any of this," he told reporters at a news conference. "My wife’s upset. All my children, they’re kind of dumbfounded."
John Doe One’s attorney, Peter McGrath, is also representing the other patients. McGrath believes his clients will never be able to live their lives they way they usually do. "All 44 of them can’t be intimate with their spouses, because they can transmit (the disease). Their children are very upset," he said. McGrath also thinks the hospital should answer for what happened. “…[T[he hospital negligently supervised its people and did not have in place the proper protection," according to McGrath.
Whatever the outcome of this case, the patients’ lives will never be the same. This incident should open the eyes of many hospitals around the United States, especially in how they monitor and hire their employees. Perhaps hospitals should utilize what other major hospitals are doing, such as drug testing their employees annually or monitoring labs and employees. One thing for certain is that patients can’t afford to be treated by hospitals that have the security of hospitals in third world countries.
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