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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

No autoclave at hospital leads to 'a gong show'

By: Kevin Rollason

7/08/2009 1:00 AM | Comments: 18

AN employee at an Interlake hospital must drive contaminated medical instruments to another medical facility to be sterilized because the hospital's sterilizing machine has been broken for about a year.

The autoclave at the E.M. Crowe Hospital in Eriksdale is so old that it can't be repaired.

Kevin O'Donovan, the Interlake Regional Health Authority spokesman, confirmed that since the machine broke, an employee has been using his own vehicle to drive the dirty instruments to the Arborg and District Health Centre about 65 kilometres away.

"It was determined that the autoclave unit was no longer repairable," O'Donovan said. "At this point, all of the items are going to Arborg. But all of the items are being decontaminated at site and then being transported in secure conditions... in the interim, this is the best and safest way."

O'Donovan said no patients or medical staff at either facility are at risk and infection-control experts oversee every procedure.

But Tory health critic Myrna Driedger disagreed. She said the hospital's lack of an autoclave "is not acceptable... not having an autoclave in place compromises patient care and safety. You're putting patients at risk.

"My first thought is, what a gong show. This is absolutely unacceptable health care from a patient-safety perspective.

"It just shows rural health care is not a priority for this government."

A spokesman for Manitoba Health Minister Theresa Oswald said whenever needed upgrades are brought to the department's attention, the province works with the region to address the issue.

"This government has a strong commitment to rural health care, and the province has made significant investments in equipment and new facilities across rural Manitoba," he said.

The spokesman said just last year, the province invested more than $500,000 to develop a mobile ultrasound program based at the Eriksdale hospital, as well as renovations to the facility. And last month a further $700,000 was invested to provide community cancer services as well as health and wellness programs at a new centre in the town.

Last month, the RM of Eriksdale's council voted to ask the Interlake Regional Health Authority to replace the hospital's autoclave "immediately" because the community takes the loss of the machine so seriously.

RM of Eriksdale Reeve Brian McKinnon could not be reached for comment.

Coun. Merle Day, who moved the council motion, said he didn't want to comment on the matter.

O'Donovan said there's no space for a new, larger autoclave in the Eriksdale hospital.

The $225,000 price tag is substantial, he added.

"We're really looking, based on changes to Canadian standards, at a very substantial capital investment," O'Donovan said.

Health officials are looking at the purchase of a hospital vehicle to continue transporting the medical instruments for sterilization, he said.

 

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition August 7, 2009 A3

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18 Commentscomment icon

I think the Minister or Health really needs to take a close look at the happenings in Eriksdale as this issue with the autoclave is at the bottom of the list for safety issues in this facility as well as the 2 neighboring facilites.There are much bigger issues that are not mentioned here but have a huge impact on patient safety and they staff themselves. Good people in this place are being bullied and pushed out for not following the commands of a health authority that is practising unsafely.I wouldnt bring my dog to any of the hospitals in this area for just this reason. Wake up people!!

To the RHA, maybe it's time to cut the fat at the top and give regional hospitals the tools that they need to function properly.

This is outrageous and embarrassing to say the least.

How does this look to other provinces or the states bordering ours?
Unbelievable!

It is amazing how much money the IRHA can waste running their day to day beaucracy, "streamlining" the health care system with middle managers, costly meetings & expense reports but when it comes time to pay for ACTUAL healthcare & essential services that a hospital of Eriksdale's size definately should have, it can't seem to cough up the cash. If they don't have enough funds to provide basic health services, maybe they should be looking internally to make some cuts to make it happen! This is a no brainer! Or so you would think anyway. Things have gone downhill since the IRHA formed - how long do people have to suffer before the gov't realizes this isn't working? This is Canada - healthcare shouldn't be a question like it is.

Fact or Fiction:
The fact is a small community hospital is again being cut back by the IRHA. It is the Regional Health Authority that needs to be cut back or eliminated. The NDP govt. have been supportive of this community and hopefully this is another opportunity to do so.
Fiction: the statement by the IRHA regarding the cost of an autoclave. You can google this item and find a hospital autoclave for $25,000.00 to $30,000.00. (Not $250,000.00)
Fact: The expense of traveling weekly back and forth to Arborg, never mind the employees time in traveling, and buying a vehicle for this person to transport these goods, will surely exceed $25,000.00 in the first year alone.
Fact: What will the IRHA do come winter? That highway was closed a number of times last year. Buy more instruments???
How cost saving is that...

This is a totally unacceptable situation, but the blame is not entirely on Ms. Oswald. We also need to look long and hard at our IRHA....maybe a good "house cleaning" would change things!!

Please, please residents of this area of the Interlake do not use this hospital!!!Keep driving and pray you don't hit the vehicle carrying these materials!! If they cannot afford essential infection control and cannot meet "Canadian standards" you are all at risk!!!

$225,000 is nothing compared to millions of dollars of potential lawsuits that could occur from this.

Please, Theresa Oswald, do Manitoba a favor and resign. The province can't take much more. Rural Manitoba can't take much more! You've closed 18 rural ERs, now standard equipment is breaking down in rural hospitals and you can't even find the money to replace it.

Maybe it's about time we had a health minister that travels outside the perimeter every once in awhile.

[edited]. Manitoba Health can provide 2.5 kagillion dollars for a dozen mahogany and ivory MRI machines and it still wouldn't change the fact that an autoclave is an essential part of a hospital.

Next you'll be bragging about the fact that the hospital has a fancy machine that goes "Ping", but shame you couldn't afford doctors or nurses.

Seriously, to whoever reads this: Did you vote for the NDP? Is this really good enough?

Consider the cost of gas, that employees time, etc. for an ENTIRE YEAR of driving back and forth, and the cost of a new (or used) autoclave might not appear so unaffordable.

Has the Interlake Regional Health Authority tried EBAY?
http://shop.ebay.ca/?_from=R40&_trksid=p3907.m38.l1313&_nkw=autoclave&_sacat=See-All-Categories

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