Nurses aware of reuse of multi-dose syringes should report the practice to their management immediately. The Alberta government has announced that they are testing patients from High Prairie who may have been administered medication through multi-dose syringes on IV lines to different patients.
The education around best practice on multi-dose syringe use has been circulated in recent years, but adoption of the practice will have occurred at different times in different facilities, perhaps even on different units within facilities.
Any nurse who knows of any cases of multi-dose administration to different patients in recent years should make a report to management.
On Monday, the Alberta government announced it will be testing 2,700 former patients of the High Prairie Health Centre after nurses identified that multi-dose syringe preparation may not be a best practice. Media reports may have unduly raised public fears about the risk.
The risk of contamination or infection from a multi-dose syringe on an IV line is very, very small, as has been reported by numerous medical opinions in the media. The province’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Gerry Predy said the practice was probably common up until about 2000. UNA suspects the practice may have continued in sites well beyond 2000.
UNA made a public statement about the low level of risk involved and the much greater risks to patients from other circumstances, especially inadequate staffing. |
