Whitehorse hospital to resume surgeries after surgical tool cleaning issue fixed

An issue with cleaning and reprocessing surgical tools at the Whitehorse General Hospital has been resolved, leading to a full resumption of surgical services by the middle of the week. 

According to a Facebook update via the Yukon Hospital Corporation, the hospital in the territory’s capital has restored its ability to clean and reprocess instruments needed for surgeries and procedures, following extensive testing and validation. 

Some procedures that had been cancelled for Feb. 11 have been rebooked, per the post. 

A systemic examination of the situation is ongoing to get to the root cause and prevent the issue from happening again, as noted in the latest post on Feb. 10. 

The hospital has a deal with the Vancouver General Hospital for medical device reprocessing that will continue in case this happens again, according to the post.

The hospital corporation apologized for the “disruption and uncertainty” caused by the cancellations. There had been no timeline for a resolution. 

Dr. Derek Bryant, who heads the Yukon Medical Association, told the News by phone on Feb. 10 that physicians were notified by the hospital corporation by email about the reprocessing equipment issue at the hospital on Jan. 31.  

Bryant said cancelled elective surgeries can be a major problem that contributes to increased wait times and timely access to health care. Cancellations can impact patients physically and psychologically, he said. 

He noted the equipment issue was outside of the surgeon’s control. However, a week of cancelled surgeries can take a toll on a surgeon’s morale and finances. 

Without knowing the cause of the issue, Bryant said he couldn’t comment on whether it is linked to funding for the hospital. He noted the remoteness of the Whitehorse hospital means it can’t lean on facilities that are nearby or just down the road. 

Depending on the cause, the issue potentially speaks to the need to upgrade surgical services in the territory, per Bryant.  

“I think it’s already apparent that we do need to expand our surgical capacity in the territory to match with the demands of our population,” he said. 

Bryant pointed to a 2019 surgical planning report that recommended expanding to four operating rooms. Population growth has outpaced the predictions in the report, he said. 

He learned about the Yukon government and hospital corporation’s recently announced plans to build a surgical tower at the Whitehorse hospital through the news. 

Contact Dana Hatherly at [email protected]