Fiona Stanley Hospital has told patients concerned about infections due to poor sterilisation practices at the troubled health centre to consult general practitioners for blood testing.
FSH came under fire recently after 120 patients contacted the hospital amid sterilisation concerns, with the Australian Nursing Federation instructing them to get tested for infections.
But rather than test the worried patients at FSH, the director of clinical services at the hospital, Dr Paul Mark, advised them in a letter to get their GPs to do the job.
The government has already admitted Serco, the multi-national in charge of sterilisation at FSH, has twice been issued a notice of breach for inadequate work.
“If, for any reason, you prefer having a blood test for blood borne viruses I would suggest that you consult your General Practitioner who can undertake appropriate pre-test and post-tested counselling and obtain informed consent,” Dr Mark wrote, in a letter that also sought to reassure patients there was no danger of infection.
Serco has been criticised for its role in the blunders that have arisen since the flagship $2 billion hospital opened in October.
In one recent incident, a patient was angered after having an allergic reaction to mushroom he was fed by hospital staff.
It is understood the state government will cancel Serco’s contract for the sterilisation duties at FSH on Monday.
But a Spokeswoman for Health Minister Kim Hames would not confirm whether or not Serco would be stripped of its sterilisation contract.
“A decision has yet to be finalised,” she said.
Opposition health spokesman Roger Cook said the government had no choice but to terminate the sterilisation contract with Serco following the series of questionable incidents at the hospital.
“We believe the hospital should have taken care of this earlier and should have invited the patients to come to the hospital to get their tests done, there rather than glibly referring them off to a GP and making that patient make all the effort themselves,” Mr Cook said.
“Secondly, this shows that the hospital shares the concerns of the community, that there is a lot of concern out there and that there is very real anxiety in the patients that have been to that hospital, that they may have been impacted by the failure in the sterilisation services.”
Australian Medical Association (WA) President Michael Gannon fully supports the move to terminate Serco’s sterilisation contract at the hospital.
“Sterilisation is a core clinical service that should never have been given to a company that clearly didn’t have the experience to provide a safe service,” he said.
Dr Gannon also wants a parliamentary inquiry to get to the bottom of the Serco debacle.
“I think there are a lot of questions that do need to be asked,” he said.
“How is it that a non-clinical provider was asked to provide core clinical services?
“Are there other aspects of the contract that they’re just not capable of providing?
“What we have seen is reports of some relatively minor cases that have perhaps taken attention over the serious structural deficiencies at the new hospital.”
Mr Cook echoed calls for a parliamentary inquiry and said issues with Serco’s role at the hospital went beyond questionable hygienic standards.
“The fact that the government is looking to withdraw that component of the contract really leaves more questions,” he said
“What other aspects of the Serco contract are not meeting public standards?
“What other aspects of the Serco contract are impacting upon the function of that hospital?”
Health Department director general Bryant Stokes said on Wednesday he was “mostly happy” with the service Serco had provided at Fiona Stanley Hospital, despite recent incidents.
However, Dr Stokes admitted he had concerns about issues relating to the sterilisation at the hospital.
Fairfax Media has been told numerous patients had reported contracting new illnesses after being discharged from FSH.
But a spokeswoman for the Fiona Stanley Hospital indicated it was unlikely that anyone had contracted a disease as a result of hygiene practices at the hospital.
“Around 120 patients contacted Fiona Stanley Hospital concerned they may have contracted blood-borne diseases following the claims by ANF State Secretary Mark Olson last week,” she said.
“All patients were assured that they were not at risk of infection
“A few patients decided to be tested at Fiona Stanley Hospital.”
Fiona Stanley Hospital problem timeline:
Before opening:
* Scheduled to open in April 2014 but opened in four phases. The final stage was completed in February 2015
* More than 200 Serco staff worked on site for several months when there were no patients. The opposition called this as “an outrageous waste”
* Costs blow out by several hundred million dollars, mainly due to IT problems
* Plans to make it a “paperless” hospital abandoned
Since opening:
* Doctors complain of being unable to get mobile phone reception
* Helicopter containing emergency airlifted patients is diverted to Jandakot airport after clearance is not given to land on the hospital helipad
* Jared Olsen, who suffered irritable bowel syndrome and suspected Crohn’s disease, allegedly died after being given the wrong medication
* Staff start quitting amid reports of overwork
* Allegations of poor sterilisation of surgical instruments by contractor Serco
* Patient Dean claims he was given mushrooms despite advising he was allergic to them.