A report from the Veterans Administration Inspector General's Office has cited West Haven-based VA Connecticut Healthcare System for unsanitary operating room conditions, inadequate supervision and high absenteeism, according to a report from the New Haven Register
The report, based on a June 2013 inspection, says terminal OR cleaning procedures are inappropriately performed and the hospital's environmental services team lacks adequate staff because of high levels of absenteeism. In addition, environmental staff members do not have uniform procedures or cleaning checklists consistent with industry standards, according to the report.
Sign up for our FREE E-Weekly for more coverage like this sent to your inbox!
The inspector general's report also found fault with VA Connecticut Healthcare System for failing to make OR staff aware of patients' infectious disease statuses before those patients arrive in the OR, causing them to be mixed in with uninfected patients and creating the potential for increased disease transmission.
Finally, OR staff told inspectors that the hospital's ORs have had an insect problem for the past eight years, most likely because the hospital has no policy for addressing the issue.
In response to the report, the hospital has released a statement saying the issues cited in the report were corrected shortly after inspectors left the facility.
While the report recommends VA Connecticut Healthcare system improve infection control and prevention, environmental cleaning and insect control policies, it notes no apparent harm has yet come of the lapses. "Although our findings substantiated an increased risk to patients and staff, we found no conclusive evidence that the environment of care deficiencies in the OR resulted in negative patient outcomes," the VA report states.
More Articles on Infection Control:
Patient Safety Tool: Reporting Data While Protecting Patient Privacy
Study: Nurse, Infection Prevention Personnel Collaboration Reduces MRSA
Study Reveals Low SSI Rates at ASCs