Windsor Regional Hospital is still trying to identify the source of the problem that is causing them to cancel all elective surgeries at the Ouellette Campus.
A cloth used to wrap sterilized surgical equipment at WRH-Ouellette campus seen here with 'scorching', August 23, 2016. (Photo by Maureen Revait)
Hospital officials say they having problems with sterilizing the equipment needed for surgery. They say staff noticed brown marks or 'scorching' on the cloth used to wrap the instruments after sterilization within the last 10 days.
CEO David Musyj says this is a separate problem from the one they faced in June but it could be related. In June, the hospital cancelled surgeries because a valve used in the sterilization equipment was not creating enough pressure to properly clean the surgical instrument.
"It could be related in the sense that how we corrected the situation with the wet loads has now possibly resulted in this," says Musyj.
Musyj says they've brought in the equipment manufacturer and an international sterilization expert from Georgia to investigate the problem.
"They are testing our water, they are testing our steam, they are testing the whole system from start to finish," says Musyj.
Because the hospital is unsure what its dealing with there is no timeline as to when the ORs will be up and running again. Some surgeries will be rebooked to Met campus while other emergency cases may need to be sent out of the city. Patients should get notice of cancellation the day before their scheduled surgery.
Musyj says patient safety has not been compromised up to this point but they've decided to err on the side of caution.