Agony of AIDS wait

2005-06-04
Barnsley News

A MUM who endured weeks of agony waiting for the results of HIV tests after her three-year-old picked up a syringe in a Sheffield McDonalds has been offered an "insulting" £750 in compensation by the fast food giant.
Louisa Hazlehurst was horrified when she realised her toddler Kieran had picked up the junkie's needle in the toilets of McDonalds on High Street last October.

But today the mum-of-two said she is furious after being told she is only entitled to £750 - which was upped from an original offer of £500 - because Kieran hadn't suffered a physical injury.
Mrs Hazlehurst of Lister Way, Gleadless, said: "What we went through was a nightmare and I think this is an absolute insult.

"It's not about the money but we want recognition that they are sorry about what happened and that they take these things seriously.
"McDonalds can take £500 in an hour - it is nothing to them. They don't understand how much worry we have been through and how much stress this has caused the whole family."
Mrs Hazlehurst, aged 28, was in McDonalds with Kieran and her one-year-old son Luke when they used the disabled toilet.

She said: "I realised Kieran had picked something up. When I saw what it was I was horrified."
It is uncertain whether or not the needle pierced Kieran's skin, but the restaurant manager was alerted and Kieran was taken to Sheffield Children's Hospital where he had blood tests so he could be checked for HIV and hepatitis.
He also had to have a course of three hepatitis injections which made him ill with sickness and diarrhoea. His mother says he is now petrified of doctors.

After an agonising three-week wait for the blood test results, Kieran was given the all-clear.
Mrs Hazlehurst, who works in a supermarket and lives with her bus driver husband Kevin, said: "The restaurants are aimed at children and you should be able to walk into a family restaurant in the middle of the day without picking up this sort of thing.

"If you are in the city centre and there are drug users you really should be checking the toilets at every opportunity.
"I just want to warn other parents that this could happen. I don't want anyone else to go through what we have."
A spokesman for McDonalds said: "The safety of our customers is of paramount importance to us and we continue to take this isolated incident extremely seriously.
"We would like to extend our sincere apologies to Kieran and his family for any distress that has been caused. We check the toilet facilities in all our restaurants on a regular basis, and will continue to remain vigilant to prevent any other incidents."