P.A. hospital works to fix issues amid wait for new neonatal unit
Renovations planned but work could take more than 18 months to complete
SASKATOON Staff at Prince Albert’s Victoria Hospital are being credited with keeping the facility ’s aging neonatal care unit up and running despite difficult conditions highlighted in a recent audit.
The unit, which occupies roughly 375 square feet, is set to be replaced. The Saskatchewan Health Authority issued a request for proposals (RFP) Oct. 1 for the project to convert space once used by the hospital’s materials management department into a new neonatal care area with 11 private baby bays, a separate assessment room, a special area for bathing and changing, and a more comfortable waiting room for families.
The need for the upgrade was deemed so urgent that it couldn’t wait for a long-promised new hospital to be built in Prince Albert. However, construction is expected to take time — likely more than 18 months. In the meantime, staff have had to respond to an audit report highlighting concerns about the ability to prevent and control infection in the current space.
A summary of the audit findings included with the RFP package noted a list of issues, including a sink found to be doing triple duty as a place to bathe infants, wash hands and store instruments. Sinks for hand hygiene are supposed to be kept separate from other uses, according to the auditors.
They also found baby bottles and nipples stored under the sink. The report states items that must be kept clean cannot be stored there due to risk of contamination.
Concerns were also raised in the report about the lack of separate space to prepare food for infants, which fails to meet the requirement that preparation and storage of formula and breast milk additives happen at a location away from the bedside.
Shawn Phaneuf, the SHA’S director of maternal and children’s programs in northern Saskatchewan, said a plan to address all the issues around infection control has been drawn up. He said space had already been found outside the unit to prepare the infants’ food and that babies were now being bathed in a treatment room, allowing the sink to be used solely for hand washing.
He said more quality improvements are coming, guided by principles of “bringing care to the baby, rather than bringing the baby to the care in the nursery,” and meant to keep mothers and babies in the facility together when possible.
Carrie Dornstauder, the SHA’S executive director of maternal and children’s provincial programs, said there is no data showing conditions in the Prince Albert unit have ever compromised patient safety.
Phaneuf praised staff for their efforts under difficult conditions.
“Our staff is always really focused on the patient-centred care and they work diligently within the multidisciplinary team to make sure all our standards of care are met given the situation they are working in.”