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The following is issued on behalf of the Hospital Authority:
The spokesperson for Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) today (November 15) announced the results of a pan-screening programme for Vancomycin Resistant Enterococci (VRE) carriers conducted earlier.
The four-week pan-screening exercise commenced on September 30 to collect specimens with rectal swabs from all inpatients to test for VRE. The pan-screening concluded on November 10 upon the completion of rectal swab collection from patients upon discharge. A total of 7 053 specimens from 4 991 inpatients were collected and tested for VRE over the period. A total of 176 patients were found to be VRE carriers in the screening, representing a 3.53 per cent of all screened inpatients. VRE carriers were found in the Intensive Care Unit, departments of Medicine, Orthopaedics and Traumatology, and Surgery, while other specialty wards were clear.
During the pan-screening exercise, the hospital had to reschedule non-emergency operations for around 150 patients for periods from one to three months later. Though the patients affected were fewer than the original estimation of 300 to 600, the hospital would like to apologise to these patients again and thank the public for their understanding.
QEH shared the experience and preliminary data analysis with frontline staff of other public hospitals at a staff forum held earlier. The screening results were also published in the special edition of the newsletter issued by the Chief Infection Control Officer Office of Hospital Authority for healthcare professionals and public viewing. The newsletter has been uploaded to the website: www.ha.org.hk/goto/cicobiweeklyupdate.
The hospital expresses gratitude to the frontline staff for their concerted efforts in the smooth completion of the screening exercise and pursuit of the enhanced infection control measures.
Ends/Friday, November 15, 2013
Issued at HKT 17:26
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