More than 500 patients who went through intestinal endoscopy procedures in Fairview could be at risk of blood-borne infections. Alberta Health Services says people who had the procedure done at the Fairview Health Complex between November 4, 2013, and January 30, 2019, are being notified after it says staff found issues with the way the instrument was cleaned.
“Alberta Health Services became aware of this issue on January 30, 2019, during a review of medical device cleaning and disinfection, and immediately suspended all endoscopy procedures. Through investigation, AHS confirmed cleaning of a small internal portion of the complex endoscope did not meet AHS’ standards of excellence in medical device reprocessing.”
AHS says the error has been fixed and there is no more risk to the public. It has not confirmed any cases of illness associated with the error. As a precaution, it is offering follow up testing for all people who may have been exposed. While AHS says the risk of infection is considered low, it is advising the 507 notified patients to be tested.