Surgical cleaning unit 'must be replaced' after four month contamination shutdown

AN NHS surgical decontamination unit will have to be replaced after it was forced to close for four months due to an unknown substance found on sterile surgical tools, according to a new report. Hundreds of procedures were cancelled after the Central Decontamination Unit (CDU) at Foresterhill, Aberdeen, was forced to close in October after an unknown substance was discovered on instruments after they had been processed. It was believed that a faulty piece of equipment was the reason for the contamination of the surgical tools. The CDU resumed full operation at the end of January, following £2 million worth of upgrades, but a budget report to NHS Grampian's bosses said the unit must eventually be replaced.

Adding the unit's age meant it must be fully replaced in the longer term, according to the BBC. "The NHS Grampian decontamination services are critical to the operation of acute services, various clinics and community healthcare," it said. "The aged facility and associated backlog maintenance risk mean a replacement facility is required. "There is currently no alternative service provision with sufficient capacity locally and there have been recent instances where service has been lost impacting significantly on clinical activity." Plans for a new facility will be developed over the coming year, the report said.

If the health authority's annual budget is approved by board members on Thursday, £500,000 would be set aside for the project. It comes after the Scottish Government helped fund £2m worth of upgrades to get the facility up and running again. NHS Grampian said it hoped the CDU refurbishment would help to prevent future problems. null (Image: PA) Vascular surgeon and acute medical director Paul Bachoo, who has been leading recovery efforts, said in January: "Extensive works have included the installation and commissioning of two new washer disinfectors so far, with three more going through the final checks.

"We've improved ventilation at the facility, upgraded the compressed air supply used for equipment controls and switched over to a previously installed reverse osmosis water plant as well as replacing ceiling, flooring, walls and hatches as part of an extensive refurbishment programme. "Colleagues have done an excellent job of a final deep cleaning exercise as well as air and water quality assurance processes. We are extremely proud of colleagues who have pulled out all the stops to get this complex programme of work completed."