Nurse who accidentally contracted HIV from patient dies

The trust for which a nurse, who contracted HIV and eventually died of Aids from a needle, was working for has described her death as a "tragic and unusual incident".

Juliet Young died in January last year at the age of 42 after the needle, by which she was taking a blood sample from an HIV-positive patient, slipped and pricked her thumb.

Ms Young, who was working at south London's Maudsley psychiatric hospital, was wearing gloves at the time when the incident occurred in June 1999.

A spokesman for the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust said: "Juliet Young was a valued member of staff and we would like to extend our sincere condolences to her family and friends."

However, he added: "We are confident that the trust has, and continues to have, adequate safety procedures in place for dealing with sharp injuries."

According to the Health Protection Agency, there are only five previously reported cases of British healthcare workers contracting HIV from a patient.

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