Portlaoise and Kilkenny hospitals criticised on CPE screening
Two hospitals have been found to be non-compliant with the national screening guidelines to protect against the superbug CPE.
The Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) carried out unannounced inspections of five hospitals between April and May.
It found that Kilcreene Regional Orthopaedic Hospital in Kilkenny and the Midland Regional Hospital in Portlaoise were not complying with the HSE’s CPE screening guidelines.
Carbapenemase producing enterobacteriaceae (CPE) is a superbug resistant to most or all antibiotics. It is carried in the bowel and can cause bloodstream infection in people who are vulnerable, such as the elderly and those with low immunity.
More than half of all patients who develop bloodstream infections with CPE die as a result of their infection.
The Hiqa inspections follow Health Minister Simon Harris’s declaration, made on October 25 last year, of a national public health emergency plan to address CPE.
Given that the threat associated with the superbug, Hiqa said it had escalated concerns to the two hospitals and the HSE to seek assurances around how each hospital might ensure compliance with the HSE’s own guidelines.
Management of these two hospitals proposed measures to address the gap identified,” said Hiqa.
It inspected the Midland Regional Hospital in Portlaoise on April 11 and found it had not ensured that national HSE patient screening guidelines for CPE were fully implemented. It escalated the issue to hospital management but acknowledged that the hospital had identified this issue as an area of concern prior to the inspection.
The general manager provided assurances to Hiqa that the hospital was actively managing this risk in the interim of additional resources required to support the full implementation of CPE screening guidelines.
Hiqa inspected the Kilcreene Regional Orthopaedic Hospital in Kilkenny on April 25 and found it not to be compliant with the national guidelines.
The general manager provided written assurance in response to Hiqa, stating that the hospital had reverted to compliance with screening guidelines in the immediate aftermath of Hiqa’s inspection.
CPE has been identified throughout the world in recent years. Ireland has seen an increase in the number of cases year on year.
The number of cases almost doubled in 2016. In the period from January 1 to July 22, a total of 231 new cases of CPE were detected across Ireland.
