Britain’s biggest chain of opticians wrongly refused to treat people with HIV due to misplaced safety fears.
Specsavers, which has more than 900 UK stores and operates in ten countries, turned away Jason Reid, 44, from an earwax removal treatment after he told them he had HIV during a routine questionnaire.
The National Aids Trust said it’s in contact with at least one other individual who has been rejected for the treatment by the high street chain for the same reason.
Specsavers said it is now “reviewing and updating” its advice for clinicians after being contacted by The i Paper.
Mr Reid said he was left feeling “ashamed and unworthy” after being denied treatment at a branch in the East Midlands earlier this month.
Having booked the procedure after suffering from a blocked ear, Mr Reid said an audiologist told him she couldn’t perform the removal due to guidance from the British Society of Audiology (BSA).
Caption: Jason Reid said he was left feeling ‘ashamed and unworthy’ by Specsavers (Source: Handout)He said: “She presented me with some medical questions like, do you have diabetes? And then she asked if I have HIV, and I said yes, because I’m very open about it.
“She kind of stopped in her tracks and looked at me and said, ‘OK, I’m going to have to look at the guidelines’.”
Speaking of being turned away from the branch, he said: “I had this horrid feeling that I’m not equal to other people, that maybe I’m dirty.”
A Specsavers spokesperson said: “Our colleague who saw Jason followed official industry guidelines but we recognise that this has highlighted a lack of clarity in the regulations. We are committed to working with the BSA and other professional bodies to improve industry-wide guidance.
“We aim to make care as accessible as possible and we are very sorry for the distress Jason felt after his experience in our store.”
Caption: Specsavers has over 900 UK stores(Getty Images Europe)The BSA advises against treating customers with “communicable” blood diseases – but does not specifically mention HIV in its guidance. Its chair, Dr Siobhán Brennan, said the advice on wax removal has now been removed from its website.
She added: “We believe that it has not been applied correctly in this instance and we are looking to improve the clarity of our wording to reduce the possibility of further misunderstandings. We are sorry this has caused upset for the customer concerned and hope our current review will resolve any future issues.”
Like most people in Britain living with HIV, Mr Reid is on effective anti-retroviral treatment which means the levels of the virus in his blood are so low it is classed as “undetectable”.
Significant medical research has concluded that when someone is undetectable it is effectively impossible for them to pass the virus on, even during unprotected sex. This has informed the international public health slogan “undetectable = untransmittable” or “U=U”.
Dr Tristan Barber, a specialist HIV consultant at the Royal Free Hospital and Honorary Secretary of the British HIV Association (BHIVA), said a treatment such as earwax removal would pose “zero risk of HIV acquisition” to a practitioner.
He told The i Paper: “There is no scientific basis to restrict people with HIV having earwax removal. There’s no risk of any exposure to blood in any case in that scenario.”
Caption: Specsavers has displayed public support for the LGBTTQIA+ community, celebrating Pride Month in its stores around the world (Source: Getty Images)Dr Barber added that even if the patient bled during the procedure, as long as the audiologist’s own skin was intact, they could simply wash off the blood and remain safe.
Daniel Fluskey, director of policy at the National Aids Trust, said there was a “concerning lack of understanding” around treating people with HIV and that it is working with the BSA and other health bodies to improve guidelines.
He added: “We are hopeful of a constructive outcome which will end the discrimination against people living with HIV and mean that they can access ear wax removal from Specsavers, and other audiology service providers.”
Mr Reid hopes his case will help others having to go through the same ordeal, adding: “Lord knows how many people have gone away feeling helpless and haven’t been able to speak up. I want to get some positive from the negative.”
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