Aids hotline at hospital

Managers at the Royal Albert Edward Hospital in Wigan have set up an emergency helpline for patients after an anaesthetist died of an Aids-related illness last week. They said they only learnt of the doctor's illness two days before his death, adding that he had posed no threat to patients.

The doctor, who arrived in Britain in 1992 from the Indian sub-continent, had also worked at Leigh Infirmary and Billinge Hospital. He had assisted at a few hundred operations.

He had also worked as an anaesthetist for the East Yorkshire Hospital Trust, the Royal Hull Trust and the Mid-Kent Health Care NHS Trust. The helpline number is 01942 822051. Liz Hunt