Denial of Surgery for a Person Living with HIV by a Medical Institution is Discriminatory
The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) made recommendations to “A”UniversityHospitaland the Minister of Health and Safety regarding the right to health of people living with HIV/AIDS. It considered “A”UniversityHospital’s denial of Total Hip Replacement Arthroplasty (THR) surgery and transferal of the person living with HIV to be discriminatory. Thus, it recommended that the head of the UniversityHospitaltake measures to prevent a recurrence of human rights violations against people living with HIV and to provide human rights education to all medical workers. The NHRCK also submitted a suggestion to the Minister of Health and Safety to monitor the UniversityHospital’s respect for equal access to the medical care by people living with HIV.
In December 2010, Mr. Kim (age 47) submitted a complaint to the NHRCK, alleging that the “A”UniversityHospitaldid not schedule him for THR surgery due to the lack of special surgical gloves for patients living with HIV.
The UniversityHospitalexplained that it transferred the patient with HIV because it was not equipped with special surgical gloves, which are no longer imported, to protect its medical staff from HIV infection.
The NHRCK acknowledged the responsibility of the hospital to protect its medical workers from HIV infection, but it found after investigation that the surgical gloves to perform surgery on people with HIV were easily obtainable and commonly used on patients with Hepatitis B. The NHRCK confirmed that Mr. Kim had received THR surgery in “B”Hospitaland “A”UniversityHospitalhad not performed THR surgery on patients with HIV for the past two years. The NHRCK declared that the hospital should have had been equipped to provide necessary medical services to patients with HIV, given its size and nature.
A survey conducted by the NHRCK in 2005 on 255 people living with HIV/AIDS confirmed that people living with HIV/AIDS commonly face discrimination in access to medical services. It found that approximately 55.2 per cent of people living with HIV/AIDS experienced delays in receiving surgery and other medical services, and 53.6 per cent claimed to experience discrimination by medical doctors. Furthermore, the survey revealed that 51.3 per cent did not disclose their HIV status for fear of refusal of treatment and other services by medical institutions. This may have the unintended consequence to potential increase in exposure of healthcare workers to HIV infection risk. Thus, promoting access to medical treatment for people living with HIV/AIDS by medical doctors is a necessity in preventing HIV infection.
