Health: HIV

House of Lords written question – answered am ar 14 Mawrth 2013.

Danfonwch hysbysiad imi am ddadleuon fel hyn

Photo of Lord Turnberg Lord Turnberg Llafur

To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their policy on testing for HIV in patients lacking capacity to give consent following a needlestick injury to a healthcare worker.

Photo of Earl Howe Earl Howe The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health

Where a person lacks capacity to consent their rights are protected by the Mental Capacity Act 2005, which determines that decisions on behalf of such a person have to be made in their best interests.

The department's view is that both the taking of samples and the testing of samples previously obtained from a patient who lacks capacity to consent are therefore acts that may only be undertaken if they are in the best interests of the patient. This would include testing a patient for a serious communicable disease such as HIV following a needlestick injury to a healthcare worker.

The department's view is that determining whether it is in the best interests of a patient who lacks capacity to take and test samples for the purpose of determining what treatment, if any, to offer a healthcare worker with a needlestick injury is a stringent test to pass. It involves assessment of the individual circumstances of the patient on a case-by-case basis.

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