Niagara Health has apologized to a St. Catharines mother for drawing blood from her son with a contaminated needle last week.

Kalesa Sewell's two-year-old Fallon had to be tested for HIV, along with hepatitis B and C, after a personal support worker pricked herself with a needle that was then used to draw blood from the boy.

Fallon tested negative for the viruses, and the health system has launched its own investigation into the March 12 incident.

Linda Boich, Niagara Health's executive vice-president of quality and community development, said she cannot speak about the specifics of the incident, citing privacy regulations.

"Rest assured, we take patient safety very, very seriously," said Boich in an interview with The Standard.

Meanwhile, Sewell remains frustrated without a clear answer as to why the needle was used to take blood from her son.

"I feel like I have been given a bit of a runaround," said Sewell. "You can't imagine how frightening this was."

The incident began last Tuesday when Sewell had to bring Fallon to St. Catharines hospital with a high fever.

He was diagnosed with a respiratory syncytial virus, an illness that commonly strikes children such as Fallon who were born prematurely.

"So we are in the hospital, and he has to have his blood drawn, which is normal," Sewell said. "Fallon was admitted to the hospital, and two days later when I went to bring him home I was told no, they had to do more testing."

A consent form Sewell was asked to sign had nothing to do with her son's illness. It was to allow the hospital to test the boy for HIV.

Sewell said she was told that when Fallon's blood was drawn, the personal support worker assisting the nurse pricked her finger with the needle. Contrary to hospital policy, she gave the needle to the nurse, who used it draw blood.

"When his blood was being taken, I was focused on Fallon and settling him down so they could get a good draw and not have to poke him a bunch of times to get a vein," said Sewell, who said she was told the nurse was also unaware the needle had pierced the support worker's skin.

When she asked hospital officials why it took two days to be informed, Sewell said she was told the support worker filed an incident report after the blood draw, but it took 48 hours for it to be processed through the hospital's computer system.

Sewell said she has yet to receive an explanation for why the support worker did not discard the needle and immediately tell the nurse what happened.

"I was told that under the circumstances, there was a very low chance that my son could contract anything, but the point is this isn't supposed to happen," said Sewell.

Both Fallon and the support worker tested negative for communicable diseases that could have been spread through the needle.

Boich said she could not disclose any details about the case, why the support worker continued to use the contaminated needle, or if that support worker is still seeing patients at the hospital.

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She said all staff involved in the incident are meeting this week to discuss the issue and determine what steps to take.

Boich said she could not say in general terms what the health system will do because each case is different. Actions against an employee may include disciplinary action or termination, depending on circumstances of an incident.

"We have apologized to the patient for not meeting her expectations," Boich said.