Hemas Hospital Thalawathugoda patient tested COVID-19 positive

A patient that sought treatment at the Hemas Hospital Thalawathugoda and was later transferred to the Sri Jayewardenepura General Hospital (SJGH) has been tested positive with COVID-19.

In a public statement on Thursday, the hospital said that that a patient who visited the Emergency Treatment Unit (ETU) of the hospital on October 19, was transferred to the SJGH on the advice of the Consultant Nephrologist.  This patient was later tested Covid-19 positive on October 20 at the SJGH. “Due to the Hemas hospital’s stringent protocols, this patient was not exposed to public areas of the facility and the hospital did not compromise the safety of the staff, customers and the community,” it said. 

Upon this information the hospital said it has taken the following steps immediately:
1.    A risk assessment was carried out as per MOH guideline dated 24th April 2020 titled “Management of Accidental Discovery of Suspected COVID-19 Patient in the Hospital” with the participation of the independent consultant physician, consultant intensivist, consultant microbiologist, infection control nursing authority and the medical administration attached to the hospital.  
2.    Eight staff members have been isolated under the watchful eyes of Public Health Inspectors (PHI).
3.    The area health authorities were informed of the incident and the risk assessment reviewed. 
4.    PCR tests were carried out immediately on staff and all test results were negative. 
5.    The staff members will continue to be in quarantine for 14 days and PCR tests will be repeated on day 7 and day 14. 
6.    ETU, patient’s path and all surfaces have been disinfected using 0.1% hypochlorite and 70% alcohol in addition to routine surface disinfection every 2 hours as per the hospital protocol. 
7.    The ETU and all departments of the hospital are functioning as usual  
The hospital will continue to adhere strictly to Ministry of Health directives and guidelines in implementing COVID -19 safety protocols and measures including proper triaging, segregation of high risk patients with separate isolation areas, special areas with HEPA-filters, UV and Plasma Air Ionizer disinfection to prevent cross contamination, proper handwashing and sanitizing facilities and crowd management. In addition, the hospital promotes the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) of highest standards by staff.
“The safety and wellbeing of our patients and employees will continue to be our highest priority and we remain committed to providing quality healthcare, adhering to the best practices in infection control,” the statement said.