An Elliot Lake woman is one of the thousands of patients to receive a letter telling her to be tested for possible infection following an investigation of a Sudbury dermatologist’s clinic.
Public Health Sudbury & Districts investigated a Sudbury dermatologist’s clinic this month.
It found that at Dr. Lyne Giroux’s office, syringes were reused to withdraw additional doses of local anesthetic from multi-dose vials for the same patient, which could result in bloodborne pathogens such as hepatitis B, C and HIV.
The woman who asked not to be identified told The Moose she was shocked to get the letter and angry that she has to undergo testing for possible contamination.
She says the testing now lays another layer of worry for her on top of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the health unit, those incidents occurred from June 21, 2006, to June 30, 2010, and from March 5, 2018, to January 24, 2020.
It was Dr. Giroux herself who informed the health unit a staff member was using the outdated
methodology for administering anesthetic and she has also contacted legal counsel.
Some 5,000 letters have been sent out to clients across Northern Ontario.
She says to date no infections have been found.
https://www.phsd.ca/health-topics-programs/inspections-enforcement/infection-prevention-and-control-lapse-reports/dr-lyne-giroux-sudbury-ontario
