Women’s and Children’s Hospital Adelaide surgery patients at risk after storeroom compromise

A major Adelaide hospital has backflipped on a denial that any patients were affected by a storage fiasco that cancelled almost 30 surgeries earlier this month.

A major Adelaide hospital has backflipped on its denial that medically unsafe equipment was used on patients after “extreme humidity” cancelled several operations earlier this month.

“On March 12, it was discovered that the humidity in the sterile store room where surgical instruments are kept and stored had been in a sub optimal humidity level for a period of 36 hours because of the extreme weather humidity we were experiencing in Adelaide at the time,” chief executive Rebecca Graham said at a press conference on Wednesday.

The incident occurred on March 12 at the Women’s and Children's Hospital in North Adelaide. Picture: NewsWire / Kelly Barnes

Some of these compromised surgical tools were used in surgeries involving 30 children and eight women at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital Adelaide on March 12.

The storeroom was the facility’s largest, according to Ms Graham, and elevated humidity levels resulted in “hundreds of pieces of equipment” being impacted.

SA Health originally claimed that no patients were operated on at the time of the incident.

“From the Monday night that we had that high level of humidity through to the Wednesday morning, there was a very low risk of post surgical infections.

“And the equipment, of course, to be very clear, was clean and sterilised, and our infectious control specialists have advised it was a very low risk,” Ms Graham said.

She added the hospital contacted the 38 patients who had surgeries in the three-day period prior “out of an abundance of caution”.

The 36-hour delay in detecting the compromised storage conditions was attributed to “no audio or visual alarm system” in the room, a measure which Ms Graham added was now in place.

‘Hundreds’ of surgical items were stored in the compromised storage room at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital Adelaide. Picture: NewsWire / Kelly Barnes

“We have also purchased dehumidification equipment for that storeroom, in the rare event of a very humid weather condition like that again.

“And as well, we have technical experts and engineers who are providing a report to me that will that will indicate what we can do to prevent this from happening again.”

At least two people received further treatment after the incident and were prescribed antibiotics amid fears of developing complications.

“There was one child that showed signs of infection, [for whom] antibiotics were provided and administered. The other child did not show any signs of infection, but regardless, antibiotics were provided,” Ms Graham said.

“There has been no direct connection between the two patients that we have subsequently seen and have been given antibiotics.

“We cannot directly say that was related to the surgery instruments. However, again, we provided the antibiotics regardless.”

The incident delayed 29 surgeries which have since been rescheduled.