Stephen Cummins

The Gloves Are Off!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For reasons I shall not bore you with tonight, I have been in hospital recently and during a set of general obs - (blood pressure, pulse, standard blood test) it was noted that the level of potassium in my blood was low. - This is nothing major and probably due to the fact I can't remember the last time I ate a banana.

 

I was given some potassium boosting tablets for a few days and then had to have my bloods done again to check there wasn't anything to worry about.

 

I sat in the chair as the doctor asked how I was feeling and moved around the room getting ready.

 

He then asked if I was suffering any viruses at present, at which point I said that I was sure he'd have seen in my notes that I am HIV+.

 

Now, I am an observant person, it's sort of a must for a writer, - being able to spot things and then articulate them is par for the course, so I was well aware, but completely unable to articulate how I felt when, having told the doctor of my HIV status, he paused, hesitated, crossed the room away from me, and put on a second pair of latex gloves.

 

There is significant debate about this practice, even within the medical profession: some say it decreases risk, others say it makes no difference, - I am unqualified to comment on this aspect, but suffice to say that it is doubtful a second thin sheet of latex will protect you from a needle stick...

 

What I am able to say, and what I feel a great urge to get off my chest, is the effect it had on me, which is that I would have found it less offensive if the doctor had removed the second pair of latex gloves, crossed the room, and slapped me round the face.

 

HIV, regrettably, still marks a person out as different, - bloods, meds and caution are part of daily life. So to be put in a position where you can see that someone is nervous and taking extra precautions to touch you, causes hurt.

 

I felt unclean. All  for a second sheet of latex which, had the needle slipped, would have afforded no extra protection.

 

After the 'glove incident', during which I sat open mouthed and raging inside my head, I spoke with some of the nurses about it and about what the guidance is. I was told that, within the last year, there had been training to say that, under no circumstances should medical staff double glove.

 

As it happens, I spoke with several of the nurses and other members of staff within the hospital about HIV (I was in for over a fortnight, - I got bored...), and the alarming truth is that several knew surprisingly little about it.

 

I suppose the point I'm trying to make is that, even within the medical profession, guidance about this sort of thing is inconsistent.

 

So my question is this, if some medical professionals, in spite of training, are still 'double-gloving' and in some cases, don't really have much of a grasp on HIV, is it really any surprise that stigma is still rife in the UK?

 

For me, unless medical professionals have, at the very least, a basic knowledge of HIV given that it now affects around a hundred thousand people in the UK, those people without any medical background surely can't be expected to adjust their stigma. 

 

These are the people responsible for the health and well being of the population, and if they don't know, why should anyone else?