Still finding stained surgical equipment, says Eastern Health
Mark Quinn | CBC News | Posted: April 13, 2016 7:26 PM | Last Updated: April 13, 2016
Health authority says ongoing problem isn't cancelling surgeries
Eastern Health says it still hasn't completely solved the problem that forced it to begin postponing elective surgeries at St. John's hospitals in mid-February.
"We are seeing some minimal and sporadic staining as we continue to work through the passivation process. All quality controls are in place and our acceptance rate has been between 98-100 per cent," said an Eastern Health official in an email Wednesday.
Passivation is a process to restore and protect metal using a protective coating, such as metal oxide, to prevent corrosion.
Health authority officials said "sporadic" cases of staining aren't causing surgery cancellations.
No surgery cancellations related to stained equipment. - Eastern Health
"Since Eastern Health's last update, there have been no surgery cancellations related to stained equipment. Eastern Health continues to monitor this closely to ensure the safety of our patients," said the health authority's statement.
Eastern Health began postponing hundreds elective surgeries in mid-February.
According to Eastern Health, the problem was first found during a "routine visual inspection" at St. Clare's Mercy Hospital when "a visible stain was noticed on equipment by surgical staff."
"On Feb. 4 at St. Clare's, we noticed some discolouration on some of the towels within some of our surgical instrument trays," Dr. Oscar Howell, Eastern Health's Vice President responsible for Medical Services, told reporters in February.
"The following week, we noticed it on some trays … in the Health Sciences Centre," he said.
Hundreds of elective surgeries continued to be postponed into mid-March.
At that time, Eastern Health estimated that it had spent $3.7 million to investigate and take steps to solve the staining problem.
The health authority said the staining was caused by mineral deposits. It said there is no evidence that patients were harmed by the stains.