Local mother concerned after accidental vaccination

According to SD76 Superintendent Mark Davidson, the school district handles the forms sent to parents for school immunizations, sending them home and then returning them to AHS, as well as providing space for the workers.

Galloway said she had filled out the form sent home by the health service that allowed parents to opt out of certain vaccines, on which she had indicated the choice against the HPV vaccine.

She made the decision out of personal concerns about that particular injection.

According to Galloway, the nurse who had injected her son called her to inform her of the mistake. While she appreciated the call, she was not happy with the way she was told about the incident.

“I know she was panicking, I get that, it’s a fairly big mistake,” said Galloway.

“She was panicking, and she said that I should be thankful that she didn’t sweep it under the carpet. I think that was kind of the first mistake in my books.”

Galloway has since followed up with AHS about the accident, and hopes that the way notification is handled in the future might change.

“Hopefully there are no more accidents,” said Galloway.

“Maybe, a manager should be making that call, instead of the panicked nurse, or have a script, so we don’t say foolish, panicky things.”

Galloway indicated she was pleased with the response from AHS in handling the matter.

“They’ve been really good to keep in touch with me almost every day, to tell me where the mistake happened, and what they plan to do to keep it from happening again,” said Galloway.

As for how the accident happened in the first place, Galloway indicated that she had been informed it was a case of distraction in a crowded situation.

Galloway also said that she didn’t see the chain of events as part of a debate on vaccinations, with her concern stemming from that particular injection happening without her consent.

“It’s not what it is, it’s a consent debate, and it shouldn’t have happened, and it shouldn’t happen again,” said Galloway.

“I think that AHS has done what they need to do for it to not happen again hopefully, but that doesn’t change the fact that it happened.”

She said that parents need to pay attention to the documents they fill out.

“I think that we as parents need to be careful what we’re signing, and be vigilant, and be responsible,” said Galloway.

“If that means we take our kids ourselves to have this done, we have to do that, even though it’s maybe less convenient.”

When reached for comment, AHS did not touch on the specifics of the incident, but provided a general statement.

“AHS takes safety and quality very seriously, and has consistent processes in place to help protect the quality and safety of every child’s immunization, every time,” read the statement.

“Investigations are completed in response to any immunization error or concern, and we use any learnings identified in the investigations to improve the quality of our programs.
To protect patient confidentiality, AHS does not provide any comment or information on any individual patient concern or investigation.”

The health provider encouraged parents with questions about immunization and post-immunization care in the South Zone to call 403-502-8200 in Medicine Hat, or 403-388-6666 in Lethbridge. AHS Patient Relations is also reachable at 1-855-550-2555.

by James Wood

Local mother concerned after accidental vaccination

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