Covenant Health is in the process of notifying more than 400 patients of an air quality issue at the Misericordia Hospital in west Edmonton earlier this year.

Dr. Robert Black, medical director for the Misericordia Community Hospital, said the “standards of positive air pressures” were not adequately maintained during some surgical and obstetrical procedures done at the hospital between May 21, 2018 and July 18, 2018.

One of the fans that controls air flow had a broken belt inside of it, Black said, adding that the belt was changed and it immediately restored air flow.

Maintaining positive air pressure reduces the inflow of air from surrounding areas that may be less sterile, Black explained.

The medical director said the issue affected three of the 10 main operating theatres and two labour and delivery cesarean section suites.

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“While the increased risk to patients is considered to be very low, as a precaution, all affected patients are being informed,” Black said Friday morning, adding a total of 473 patients will be contacted via registered letter.

READ MORE: Misericordia emergency room leak fully repaired

Black stressed that the hospital has not seen any increase in infection rates from affected patients.

“It is important to note the increased risk of infection is very low and steps were taken immediately to rectify the problem as soon as it was identified,” Black said.

“It is also very important for our patients to know and understand that there is no risk to babies, to newborns, whatsoever. And as well, there is no risk or change in risk to our staff or our physicians.” Tweet This

Black said there is no ongoing risk to current surgical patients, and added that only patients who had surgery in the affected galleries and suites during the outlined time frame will be notified.

He said the 473 procedures make up 18 per cent of the surgical procedures done at the hospital between May 21 and July 18. In total, 2,663 procedures were done during this time, Black said.

Maintaining positive air pressure is only one of the many factors that contributes to maintaining an environment that minimizes the risk of infection, Black explained.

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The hospital has an analog air monitoring system in place, but Black said it is at the end of its life cycle and the facility is currently in the process of installing digital monitors in all of the individual theatres.

“We are also having facilities management who go in and manually are registering the numbers to ensure we are correlating well with the pressure monitors that we’re looking at now.”

Ongoing issues at the Misericordia

The air quality issue is the latest in a string of problems at the nearly 50-year-old hospital.

In late August, the hospital’s emergency department was closed for four days due to a flood. Ambulances were directed to other hospitals and other Edmonton-area hospitals called in more staff as a result of the closure. Between 120 and 140 people are seen every day at the Misericordia.

READ MORE: Emergency department at Misericordia Hospital reopens Friday

Flooding and leaks in 2014 resulted in the then-Opposition NDP government calling for the building to be replaced.

Adam Gordon is a patient at the Misericordia and visits the facility about once per month. He said the quality of care provided by the nurses and doctors is great, but added he’s concerned about the facility itself.

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“I feel like the infrastructure of the hospital is quite outdated and as a patient, I feel that the government hasn’t made it a key priority to invest in updating the infrastructure,” Gordon explained.

“I feel like that still affects health care. I don’t feel like I’m in danger but I do feel the quality of health care could be improved if they invested more in this hospital.”

Black addressed the potential concerns patients may have about the health care quality provided at the Misericordia.

“Of course that’s a concern with all of our staff,” he said. “But looking at this and looking at the team and looking at how we have been able to work through these, we have an incredible team that is able to respond to these issues. Tweet This

“I absolutely understand the concern because we obviously have had issues in the past that have been well documented. But in fact, this is completely unrelated to those. When we look at those issues in the past, they have been with regards to water, sewer issues,” he continued.

“This likely is a mechanical issue that has been repaired and that can be easily maintained. With regards to the safety, we have no concern that we can maintain absolute safety and ongoing excellence of care with our patients.”

In an email to Global News, Health Minister Sarah Hoffman said the government knows there are infrastructure and maintenance pressures at the Misericordia that need to be addressed.

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“We’ve taken action to improve infrastructure at the Mis. In addition to our $65-million investment in a new emergency department, we are also addressing the backlog of deferred maintenance at the hospital with Infrastructure Maintenance Program funding. Since 2015, more than $9 million has gone to improvements for elevators, water systems, fire alarms and sprinklers. These kinds of improvements will continue with approximately $6 million in 2017-18.

“While the air quality issues announced today are not related to aging infrastructure, we will continue to invest in health care and health-care facilities to ensure that Albertans receive the right care, in the right place, at the right time.”

$65 million allocated for Misericordia upgrades

In the Alberta NDP’s 2017 budget, $65 million was announced over four years for upgrades to the hospital. The province said the modernization project would include a new emergency department.

Site preparation and demolition is slated to start before the end of 2018, the NDP said this past July.

During the 2015-2016 year, the Misericordia saw 51,214 visits to its emergency department; more than double the volume it was designed to accommodate.

The current ER was built in 1969 and it was renovated in 1989.

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Black said when they first learned of the issue in July, the hospital engaged its infection control physicians and looked at national and international literature and determined the risk to patients was very low. An internal review was conducted to see if there are changes that could be made to ensure this doesn’t happen again, Black explained, and a third-party was brought in to conduct its own review.

Affected patients who have questions or concerns are asked to contact their surgeon who performed the procedure. Those looking for contact information can call 1-877-295-6344.

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