NHS explain unusual symptoms

Electric bulb the cause of sunburn style compaint

AN investigation was carried out after three people reported symptoms similar to sunburn following a food preparation demonstration at Raigmore Hospital.
It revealed that the wrong UV light bulbs had been used in an electric fly killer.
Several hours after the demonstration in the catering department at the Inverness hospital on Friday 19 August, two members of staff and one outside representative reported symptoms of a skin rash and sore watery eyes.
A further three NHS Highland staff and two environmental health officers from The Highland Council experienced similar symptoms a few hours after being in the same side room of the Raigmore kitchen on Monday 22 August.
A total of five of those affected (three NHS Highland staff and two others) attended their local A&E department and were given treatment for their eye irritation. No hospital admissions were necessary. All those affected are either fully recovered or recovering well and all are back at work.
Occupational Health, Health and Safety, and Public Health, as well as Environmental Health Services at The Highland Council, were all involved in carrying out the full investigation.
The cause has been confirmed as the wrong UV light bulbs being used in an electric fly killer within the side room of the kitchen. The bulbs used emit UVC light instead of UVA light and this has resulted in the affected staff experiencing mild sunburn of the exposed skin on their head and neck, and cornea of the eye, which led to the soreness and watering. These effects are short term. Catering staff have been briefed and reassured that there is no long term damage or implications for their health.
All similar devices throughout NHS Highland have now been checked and appropriate procedures put in place to ensure that this does not happen again.
The problem was not food related and the running of the catering department has been unaffected.