A mother treated by the surgeon infected with hepatitis C has spoken of the hospital's failure to send her a warning letter.

The Rayleigh woman, who asked not to be identified, said she did not want to cause a panic but felt it was possible others had been missed out.

She had read about the doctor, who had been working at Rochford Hospital's obstetrics and gynaecology department between August 1, 1989 and August 6, 1992.

More than 1,000 letters were sent to women urging them to contact Southend Hospital as a precaution and a special hotline was set up.

The 31-year-old at first dismissed the reports but when her family pointed out she had given birth there ten years ago and had to undergo an emergency procedure on a cervical tear she decided to ring the hospital.

She was then told that her notes had been missed and she was asked to come in for a blood test and counselling.

She said: "I'm not doing this to cause a scare but to make women realise at the same time that there is a possibility and they follow their instinct like me and phone. They said I was the only one who had been missed but how do they know?

"I have been reading up on hepatitis C and there is not a lot to be scared of but people should be checked if they are worried."

A spokesperson for Southend Hospital said: "There were exceptional reasons why in this particular case the lady was missed.

"We have gone through 35,000 patients notes over a period of a few weeks. We are now as sure as we can be that we have contacted anyone who may have been affected."

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