The hotel’s spa changed its health policy after asking a client to disclose their HIV status before an employee wears surgical gloves during a massage.
Eugene Lynch, who has been living with HIV since 2013, visited the Pennyhill Park Hotel with his partner on February 17 to celebrate their anniversary. While waiting for a massage at the Mx Spa, Lynch had to fill out a medical consultation form, part of which asked about HIV and what medications he was taking, he said.
“I know that in this scenario, disclosure of my HIV information is irrelevant,” he said. I.
Mx Lynch, who is not binary, works for the UK’s largest HIV charity, the Terrence Higgins Trust, educating the public about the virus. He said the incident left her in a “pretty vulnerable position”.
He was also concerned about what happened to information received from clients and who could access it, stressing that medical information is better protected and only “absolutely necessary” information should be collected.
“You have the right to keep this information separate and confidential,” he said, “including about your therapist.
During the massage, Mx Lynch said that he was concerned about what the massage therapist was thinking, whether they knew how HIV was transmitted, and whether they were afraid of getting infected.
“It wasn’t a very relaxing experience,” he said, adding that “their mood dropped a bit” when they realized the therapist was wearing gloves.
According to the NHS, HIV cannot be transmitted through sweat, urine or saliva and is found in body fluids such as semen, vaginal and nasal secretions, blood and breast milk. A fragile virus that does not live long outside the body.
Although Mx Lynch’s spa did not confirm if gloves were worn because of her HIV, they did note that the spa therapist who gave her non-HIV partner facial was doing it with his bare hands.
“That’s what stigma is,” said Mx Lynch.
The situation made her think about how the incident could have been “provoked”. The experience was right [me] a little,” MX Lynch said.
After I contacted the hotel, a spokesman for parent company Exclusive Collection said he had informed Mx Lynch of his experience “and took immediate action if necessary.” They declined to comment further.
Mx Lynch later clarified that the hotel manager had confirmed that HIV questions had been excluded from pre-treatment counseling at the spa and that there were plans to provide HIV training to staff at the two spas.
Emails between Mx Lynch and Pennyhill Park manager Charlene Phipps viewed Ishows Ms Phipps thanking Mx Lynch for sharing her experience, adding, “You brought up some really interesting and important points.”
“I truly believe that we need to consider not only policies and procedures, but also how our customers feel,” she said.
Source: I News
I’m Raymond Molina, a professional writer and journalist with over 5 years of experience in the media industry. I currently work for 24 News Reporters, where I write for the health section of their news website. In my role, I am responsible for researching and writing stories on current health trends and issues. My articles are often seen as thought-provoking pieces that provide valuable insight into the state of society’s wellbeing.