In Escondido, hundreds of patients are being urged to get tested after they were potentially exposed to several serious viruses at two North County hospitals. The hospitals state that the chance of infection is low, but they are offering free blood tests to 3,400 patients who could have been exposed to Hepatitis or HIV due to improperly cleaned equipment.

A letter delivered by certified mail to certain patients at Palomar Health Center and it’s sister hospital at Pomerado said the risk of transmission was low. “It doesn’t say the kind of infection, and I later find out that they’re testing for is Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and HIV,” said a patient. The patient, whom wished to not be named, received a letter from Palomar Pomerado’s CEO, Michael Covert, which read:

“As part of our ongoing review process, Palomar Pomerado Health examined the techniques we used to clean and disinfect equipment used in your procedure. As a result, we have found some of the steps we performed were different from the steps the manufacturer recommends.”

The patient said she was shocked. “Especially when the letter said that the issue was they didn’t follow the manufacturer’s instructions,” she said. The procedures in question were colonoscopies and trans-vaginal ultrasounds at Palomar Medical Center, and the letters were sent after the state department of health conducted a full investigation. Palomar Pomerado is now offering the affected patients free blood tests to determine whether they were infected, which does not make matters better for this patient. “It doesn’t set my mind at east at all, it infuriates me,” said the patient. “The whole thing infuriates me.” Palomar Pomerado insisted the chances of infection were very low and to their knowledge, no patients have been infected.

This is not the first time a local hospital has had to warn patients about potential exposure to infection. In 2006, Scripps Green Hospital and Scripps Memorial Hospital issued warnings just months apart. Both cases were due to improper sterilization of instruments, and nearly 400 patients received warnings.