A MUM has spoken of her horror after her 23-month-old son grabbed a used syringe full of blood and put it in his mouth at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary.
Young Alfie Jackson is now being treated for hepatitis as a precaution after he got his hands on the medical waste while his parents talked to a doctor.
He was not stabbed as there was no hypodermic needle in the syringe.
His mum, Jodie Sykes, 22, said she was “absolutely petrified” for her youngster and shocked at the lack of action by hospital officials.
She has now filed an official complaint after the incident last Thursday in the surgical assessment unit.
“We were put in a room as a doctor was examining my partner, Dean Jackson,” she said.
“There was a syringe filled with blood and my son got hold of it.
“We turned around and he put his hand full of blood into his mouth.
“I screamed ‘put it down’ and he started crying. I was absolutely petrified that he could catch something or get a disease as it was someone else’s blood.
“No-one can tell me if that was clean, if it wasn’t diseased or infected.
“With him not even being two yet I’m terrified that it could affect him for the rest of his life.”
Jodie, from Golcar, said she was further angered that the doctor hadn’t seemed concerned about the impact on Alfie.
“The doctor went to get a cleaner so we ended up cleaning up Alfie with wet wipes,” she added.
“He didn’t say anything about treating him, we were just brushed off.
“It was only the next day when I was speaking to Dean’s doctor saying I wasn’t very happy about it that he said there was supposed to be a procedure.
“Within five minutes they took us to Ward 18 for blood tests and treatment for hepatitis.
“He had an injection and he’s got to go back in a month.
“Then in three months we have to go back to see if he’s caught anything.”
Jodie said they thought the blood filled syringe had been left on top of a needle disposal bin.
She added: “The nurse said it’s impossible to get your hand in a needle bin so it can’t have been in properly.”
Huddersfield Royal Infirmary medical director David Wise said: “This is unacceptable and should never have happened and for that we apologise to the family.
“We have reviewed the environment on the unit and are issuing a reminder to all staff that sharps boxes must be kept in a safe location to make sure that this does not happen to anyone else”.
