Kamloops hospital's sterilizers break down

B.C's Royal Inland Hospital is having more problems with its steam sterilization unit after all three of the high-temperature autoclaves used to clean surgical instruments broke down this week.

The Kamloops hospital had to postpone 19 operations last week because two of the sterilizers broke down. Then on Thursday, hospital administrator Marg Brown said the only remaining machine broke down.

"We had made repairs to our steam sterilizer units, but on Tuesday we started having issues with them again," she said.

"The pans that were coming out of the steam sterilizer were coming out with a particulate matter that you could see and you could feel. At this time, we're not able to use these units," said Brown.

No surgeries were cancelled Thursday, but she said the hospital would have to decide if it has enough supplies to get through Friday's procedures. 

Aging machines to be replaced

The hospital is sending medical instruments to a private surgical clinic for cleaning.

A large part of the problem is that the broken autoclaves are well past their prime — some are more than 15 years old — and the whole sterilization department is due for an overhaul.

"Our equipment is old. It's aged. But it has been maintained regularly. And they were working well ... for a bit," said Brown.

Health Minister Kevin Falcon has promised funding for a new central sterilization department for Royal Inland, and construction is expected to get underway by the end of the year.

But that can't come fast enough for everyone at the hospital, said Brown.

"It's extremely frustrating for the community and for our patients. It's frustrating for the physicians. It's frustrating for the staff. But we remain optimistic," she said.

Contamination of surgical tools has been a chronic problem at the hospital in recent months.

Earlier this year an external investigation found increased workload and a shortage of experienced staff was also creating problems with contamination of equipment at the hospital and leading to the cancellation of a large number of surgeries.

The RCMP launched an investigation after hospital staff noticed some surgical equipment appeared to be deliberately contaminated, but no charges were ever laid.