WELLINGTON - National standards for sterilising endoscopes are to be established following health scares with the equipment in Rotorua and Christchurch in the past year, the Ministry of Health said yesterday.
Contaminated equipment used for colonoscopy examinations at Lakeland Health between mid-February and late March this year had exposed 34 patients to the risk of HIV, hepatitis B and C.
Those patients had since had blood tests and been told of the results.
In July last year, more than 1330 patients also had to have blood tests after a disinfection machine at Canterbury Health failed to properly sterilise some endoscopes.
Endoscopy involves inserting a thin rubber camera tube through the mouth down into the stomach area or through the anus into the bowel for examinations.
Safety and regulation chief adviser Bob Boyd said yesterday that the ministry and the Health Funding Authority would now work with hospitals to develop national protocols and quality assurance systems for cleaning and reprocessing endoscopes.
Dr Boyd said that since the Rotorua scare, the ministry had asked for and received confirmation from all hospitals that adequate procedures were in place to clean, disinfect and sterilise endoscopes before reuse.
Hospitals were also doing routine microbiological tests to check the disinfection process.
However, the whole issue had "raised questions" about the need for a consistent approach to processing the equipment, Dr Boyd said.
"Agreed national protocols and quality assurance systems would reduce the risk to patients from potential infection through contaminated equipment," he said.
"They would also ensure that hospitals meet the new infection control standards, which are close to being finalised."
Dr Boyd said recently developed endoscopy guidelines for Australia could be adapted to New Zealand.
Meanwhile, Dr Boyd said the cause of the problem at Lakeland Health was still unclear.
Following extensive investigations, the ministry was satisfied that the hospital had the necessary equipment and staff had adequate knowledge and skills to safely sterilise endoscopes.
Earlier reports said the contamination might have come from a connecter between the steriliser and the colonoscope.
The hospital was now soaking its colonoscopy equipment in 70 per cent alcohol overnight after having manually cleaned it and then cleaning it again in the morning before the next patient was operated on.
- NZPA
Standards planned for all endoscopes
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