A botch-up at a Covid centre in Fife has left a mum and daughter fearing they have the virus after being exposed to a bag of biohazardous tests.
Tracy McKenzie had sent a friend to collect lateral flow tests from the Savoy Centre on Monday.
But instead, they were handed a blue bag of used Covid-19 tests meant for the lab at Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy, in error.
Tracy and her 17-year-old daughter Brooke became suspicious about the contents of the bag and phoned the NHS for help – only to be told by a call handler to open it.
And Tracy was shocked to discover it was full of Covid-19 tests and, in a potential data protection breach, complete with names of people tested at the centre.
‘I’m really nervous now’
NHS Fife say they are aware of the incident and have put measures in place to stop it happening again.
They also insist samples aren’t infectious and are collected and doubled bagged to reduce risk.
But Tracy is still feeling worried after the mistake.
She said: “I’m so shocked this has happened.
“I’m really nervous now – I was told yesterday to isolate and book at test, but was phoned today and told there’s minimal risk.
“I’m still going to isolate and book a test – minimal risk isn’t no risk.”
Tracy and Brooke decided to ask questions when the tests didn’t arrive in a box.
She said: “My friend went to the Savoy Centre to pick up lateral flow tests and a member of staff handed him the blue bag.
“He came over to my house, just sat it down and I thought that’s strange – when I’d ordered lateral flow tests online they come in a box.
“The bag felt like it was full, like there was a lot in it.
“I phoned the number on the side of the bag and was told to phone NHS 24.”
But it wasn’t long before the mum and daughter were told to return to the Savoy Centre with it.
‘I’ll still be booking a test’
Tracy said: “The call handler asked me open the bag to see inside.
“There were a few tests in the bag and I saw one with a man’s name which said ‘throat swab’ so I told the call handler, ‘It’s definitely Covid tests’.
“He told me to close the bag and not touch it – but by then I’d already opened the bag after he asked me to.
“His advice was to also return it to the Savoy Centre which we did.
“Then I phoned the Covid-19 line and was told we would need to isolate and get a test because the bag contained biohazardous materials and we have been exposed.
“Today (Wednesday) they got back to me and said there’s minimal risk, but I’ll still be booking a test.
“I’ve had my two vaccinations but Brooke is only 17 so it’s really worrying.”
NHS Fife said sample tubes contain a solution which rapidly breaks down bacteria and viruses (if present) to ensure the sample is not infectious, even if samples were to leak or be opened.
Samples are collected and double-bagged by site staff to minimise risk of any infectious material contaminating the sample tube or bags.
‘Work is ongoing to understand how this happened’
Director of Public Health Dr Joy Tomlinson, added: “We are aware of a recent incident where a member of the public attending one of our Covid-19 testing sites was wrongly given a sealed package containing 11 testing samples.
“The package was returned to the testing site some hours later with the samples intact, which were subsequently sent to our laboratory for processing.
“Work is ongoing to understand how this incident happened and put in place measures to prevent such an incident from being repeated in future.”
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