Student nurses at the University of Derby told of possible blood contamination receive financial compensation with Group Action Lawyers

Our lawyers successfully helped former student nurses recover financial compensation for the University of Derby’s negligent actions that put them at risk of infection through blood contamination.

The cases were settled outside of court by our expert team of lawyers.

As soon as news broke of the scandal, we were on the case and offering our services to anyone affected. A number of individuals approached us for help and advice, and we took forward claims on a No Win, No Fee basis for individuals affected.

What happened?

Back in 2011, student and trainee nurses were required to undergo occupational health tests, which included a blood test. Some three years later, hundreds of student nurses received a letter informing them that they may have been put at risk of blood contamination and infection because the proper procedures were not followed by the person who was conducting the tests.

The healthcare worker who conducted the blood tests reused the blood collection tubes / barrels between patients even though they were intended for single use. The nurses were required to take certain vaccinations and Mantoux testing, and during these procedures, the needles were changed but the syringe barrels may not have been changed for each individual patient.

Our action

We were instructed to act for a number of individuals who approached us for representation. We alleged that the university had clearly failed in their duty of care for the students because the healthcare worker who conducted the tests failed to use sterile instruments and failed to comply with basic hygiene and cross-contamination protocols.

Many of the people affected suffered significant distress; and understandably so. Students affected underwent screening to check for blood contamination and infections, and whilst they waited for the screening, and then for the results, many victims had to inform their families and previous partners of the risk they may have inadvertently put them at.

The effects of the scandal

As is protocol for some workplaces, there were victims who had to inform their employer of the risk they had been put at for occupational risk assessment purposes. For data protection reasons, we cannot go in to detail as to any infections or more in-depth effects on people involved, but you can imagine the stress this scandal understandably caused to people involved.

University of Derby criticised

The University of Derby was severely criticised for putting its own students at risk because of the failure to adhere to common hygiene practices. Some 606 students are believed to have received this letter dated the 28^th April 2014 notifying them of possible blood contamination.

Anyone who undergoes medical treatment or screening expect that basic levels of hygiene are met, with sanitary instruments being used as instructed. Certain instruments must be cleaned at an industrial level, and some must never be reused at all.

Healthcare providers and practitioners undergo training to prevent this type of thing from happening. This simple oversight has caused hundreds of people to be put at risk of life-altering diseases.