Reusable medical devices, including endovaginal transducers, colonoscopes and laryngoscopes, were not properly disinfected or tested at some veterans clinics in Puerto Rico, federal healthcare inspectors have found.
A report from the Department of Veterans Affairs' Office of Inspector General details the following findings from recent inspections of VA facilities in the U.S. Caribbean territory:
improperly disinfected endovaginal transducers at the Mayaguez Outpatient Clinic;
failure to perform leak testing on colonoscopes in the operating room for at least 9 months;
failure to perform leak testing on laryngoscopes at the Ponce Outpatient Clinic;
improperly pre-cleaned laryngoscopes in radiotherapy (a leak was discovered in 1 device that was in service); and
inaccurate certification of compliance with equipment reprocessing procedures and training on 3 occasions.
In addition to the lapses in equipment cleaning and disinfection, the report also notes that senior management was aware of these issues but failed to act upon them or assess the potential risks they posed to patients.
The report comes 1 year after VA inspectors discovered improperly disinfected endoscopy equipment at facilities in Florida, Tennessee and Georgia and warned thousands of veterans treated at those facilities that they may have been exposed to infectious diseases.
Irene Tsikitas
