Faulty disinfection equipment at Slagelse Hospital may have left 700 patients at risk of being infected with HIV or hepatitis.
The rinse cycle in the washer has been broken since March. Endoscopes used during gastro-intestinal operations were not being completely cleaned, creating the possibility that infections could have been passed from patient to patient over the past six months.
Vagn Ove Bendtsen from the hospital’s surgery department told DR Zealand news that a defective piece of pipe was replaced as soon the problem was discovered.
The incident was reported to the hospital’s administration, who insisted that all 719 patients who had been examined with the scopes be contacted. The hospital said the possibility of infection is minimal and that all of the patients that may have been affected have been notified.
None of the patients have reported symptoms of infection.