Several surgeries postponed at the QEII after sterilization issue
Posted Apr 20, 2015 07:37:55 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The QEII Health Sciences Centre will only perform urgent, emergency and time sensitive cases only today due to a sterilization issue.
Surgeries that can be safely postponed have been rescheduled.
The QEII began their investigation after finding black debris Saturday on some of the equipment, mostly trays, used in surgical procedures.
The hospital said equipment used in everything from minor to major surgical procedures goes through a rigorous sterilization process.
Not all equipment was found to be contaminated, but the hospital moved quickly to reduce their sterilization capacity.
“We have contacted patients that were scheduled for surgery and notified them that anyone that was having an elective procedure that that would not be proceeding,” said Karen Mumford, spokesperson from The QEII Health Sciences Centre. “We will save what capacity we have for urgent and emergent cases”
Mumford said they caught the problem before any contaminated trays could come in contact with patients.
The QEII will be using equipment sterilized at other facilities across Nova Scotia Health Authority and at partner organizations to handle emergencies today.
The cause of the sterilization problem is still unknown and the investigation is ongoing.
Mumford said she’s not certain when they be back running at full capacity.
“The hospital will be assessing it on a day-to-day basis,” added Mumford, “and will continue to do that to determine what capacity they have to be able to provide service for Tuesday”.
The hospital said they had approximately 95 surgeries scheduled for today, and about 80 patients are being notified by telephone that their procedures have been postponed.
