A Sydney hair replacement clinic may have exposed hundreds of patients to HIV and other viruses and infections through poor sterilisation procedures.
An investigation by NSW public health authorities has uncovered a lack of sufficient sterilisation procedures in a clinic run by Angela Katarina Campbell in Suit 23 at 193 Macquarie Street, Sydney.
Dr Campbell’s medical registration was cancelled in February by the Medical Council, but it has only recently come to light that the clinic may not have had sufficient safe practices. A lack of medical records also means that authorities have some difficulty in tracking down everyone who may have attended the clinic. Authorities estimate that several hundred people may have been exposed.
Professor Mark Ferson, Director of the Public Health unit said anyone who had attended the clinic should go and see their GP.
“As a precaution, we are recommending that former patients attend their local general practitioner for screening for hepatitis C, hepatitis B and HIV infection,” he said. “NSW Health has notified other states and territories, as we believe some patients may have come from interstate and overseas.”
There is no suggestion that any other hair clinics on Macquarie Street have insufficient procedures.
OIP Staff, image: stockimage/YayNicro/merzavka
