Another blood contamination hits MoH
Mpho Mokwape | Tuesday August 30, 2016 18:00
Information reaching Mmegi revealed that the three officers were suspended after an undisclosed number of contaminated blood units were supplied to the hospitals three weeks ago. Five pints/cartons were detected before they were used at Scottish Livingstone hospital and one was detected at Princess Marina, but had already been used on a patient, said a source whose name cannot be disclosed for fear of victimisation.
Permament secretary Shanaaz El Halabi confirmed that there is contamination and that three employees are suspended. She confirmed that syphilis was detected in the contaminated blood and blamed negligence and human error on the part of the officers, further saying that they failed to remove the contaminated samples.
“This time we have suspended the officers because it was human error and not system failure as opposed to the previous case, which resulted from the system failure,” El Halaabi said. She confirmed that the blood had already been transfused on patients, but they have managed to contain the situation. She assured the nation that they have robust checks and balances in place to guard against such accidents.
The latest contamination follows another which health authorities at the NBTS allegedly supplied patients at Princess Marina with three units of syphilis-infected blood due to a fault within a new system at the blood bank.
At the time, NBTS had sent three units of blood infected with syphilis to Princess Marina hospital, after a mix-up involving the new system. Contacted for comment, assistant minister of health, Alfred Madigele said he was clueless regarding the latest blood contamination incident. “I have no clue what you are talking about. I have never been informed about any form of blood contamination,” he briefly said yesterday.