Surgeries at the Grande Prairie Regional Hospital are back on pace, according to AHS.
AHS says it has followed a phased surgical resumption plan in recent weeks, gradually increasing elective surgical capacity at GPRH while ensuring the safe availability of surgical instruments.
Officials say that AHS has resumed on-site surgical instrument reprocessing at the hospital, following the installation of a mobile Medical Device Reprocessing (MDR) unit. The unit became operational in late June. AHS added that the mobile unit is a temporary solution while repairs and upgrades are completed to the site’s permanent MDR infrastructure.
Work to replace the existing steam sterilizers with new electric sterilizers to mitigate the building steam issues is expected to continue over the next months. Permanent MDR repairs are expected to be completed this fall.
Following identification of the MDR issue at GPRH, AHS says they immediately removed potentially affected equipment from service, paused local surgical instrument reprocessing, and launched a investigation with support from Infection Prevention and Control and the Medical Officer of Health.
As part of the investigation, the health service reviewed high-risk surgical cases from the past two years, and have not identified any infections associated with the MDR issue. Some of the cases reviewed include: hip and knee replacements, as well as other surgical cases that used reprocessed instruments.
AHS continues to monitor any potential risk to patients, and established processes remain in place for follow-up, including patient notification and testing when warranted.
AHS added that they continue to prioritize completing postponed procedures as soon as possible.
As of July 20, approximately 97 per cent of postponed surgeries had been completed or rescheduled, and affected patients continue to be contacted directly to arrange new surgery dates.
More than 130 elective surgeries are now scheduled each week, with plans to run an additional operating room theatre this summer to increase surgical capacity and improve timely access to care.
The hospital and AHS, are planning further increases in surgical activity, with a target of a 15 per cent increase by the end of September.
