Que. hospital hired more staff after C. difficile killed 16

The Honoré-Mercier Hospital in St-Hyacinthe stepped up efforts to keep wards clean after a superstrain of the C. difficile bacteria killed 16 people, a hospital manager testified Monday.

The head of technical services and hygiene at the hospital, Sylvie Frénette, told a coroner's inquest that 10 new workers were hired in late 2006 following an outbreak of the superbug that claimed 16 victims.

The extra staff members made it possible to disinfect rooms twice a day and implement sanitation measures recommended by the provincial Health Department, Frénette told Quebec coroner Catherine Rudel-Tessier.

Frénette, who was hired by the hospital in November 2006, could not speak to disinfection standards at the hospital prior to her arrival.

Other witnesses have testified the hospital broke its own sanitation and disinfection rules at the peak of the outbreak, which spread through the hospital from May to October 2006.

Microbiologist Anne Vibien told the inquest last week that a stringent cleaning plan created by hospital administrators was not executed because of a shortage of personnel.

Some families of the C. difficile outbreak victims are blaming the hospital for the deaths of their loved ones. Many families are seeking financial compensation, but have not yet launched a lawsuit.

The coroner's inquest will resume on Wednesday, when the hospital's former director, Denis Blanchard, is called to the stand.