A Washington State Department of Health investigation reportedly found lapses in competency training and oversight of the cleaning and sterilization processes at the Seattle Children’s Hospital clinic in Bellevue, which revealed an issue with tool cleaning last month that may have put 12,500 patients at risk for hepatitis B, C and HIV.
The results of the DOH’s investigation, which were given to the hospital on Sept. 24, reportedly confirmed the findings of Seattle Children’s own internal investigation.
“The DOH report confirmed the findings of our own investigation, identifying lapses in competency training and oversight of the cleaning and sterilization processes. Staff are already being retrained and processes verified so that all required procedures are followed every time,” said Stacey DiNuzzo, the public and media relations manager for Seattle Children’s.
That report has not been made public because while the state Department of Health’s investigation is complete, the case is still open, according to a DOH spokesman.
Investigators from the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) spent several days with us earlier this month, evaluating and inspecting our processes and interviewing employees at all levels, the hospital reported in a press release.
To date, Seattle Children’s has completed testing on more than 3,000 patients, and have found no infections to report.
The hospital first revealed that there was a lapse in the required procedures for cleaning and sterilizing surgical instruments at their Bellevue Clinic and Surgery Center on Aug. 26.
Staff reportedly noticed “debris” in packaged instruments taken off of a shelf in the clinic, prompting the investigation. Initial findings have shown that the steam sterilization step, which is the last step in the process, was working properly.
Around 12,500 children and their families were sent letters in the mail at the end of August reporting that they may be at risk for infection. At the time, the hospital said they did not know exactly how many patients might be impacted, but said that those who wished could be tested at Seattle Children’s or receive lab forms to take to their own providers.
“The risk to patients as a result of this incident remains extremely low. Our patients’ safety is our top priority and we are very sorry that this happened. We will continue working with Public Health – Seattle & King County, the Washington State Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control to protect the health and safety of our patients,” said Dinuzzo.
The hospital is currently retraining their sterile processing staff in light of the investigations’ findings. All current processes have been verified and all staff are following proper protocol, said DiNuzzo, but the hospital cannot elaborate on any new processes or check-points that will be put in place because they haven’t finalized the action plan.
