Baystate Nobel Hospital in Westfield, Mass., has notified 293 patients who had colonoscopies between June 2012 and April 2013 of a possible exposure to bloodborne pathogens.
According to a report from The Republican, a scope used during the colonoscopies at the hospital may not have been disinfected properly, potentially exposing patients to diseases like hepatitis C and B and HIV. The disinfection problem happened during the last phase of high-level disinfection and occurred due to a training failure after the hospital got new colonoscopy equipment.
The hospital changed cleaning procedures when the problem was originally discovered in April 2013, but was not aware that patients were at risk until a notification from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health arrived in December 2015.
Sarah Haessler, MD, an infectious disease physician at Baystate Health, said in a statement the "risk to patients is very low… However, the risk is not zero." The hospital is offering free screenings to affected patients, according to the report.
The incidents occurred before Springfield, Mass.-based Baystate Health acquired the hospital in July 2015.