Hemas Hospital Thalawathugoda issues statement

Friday, 23 October 2020 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Hemas Hospital Thalawathugoda in a statement to media said that a patient who visited the Emergency Treatment Unit (ETU) of the Hospital on 19 October was transferred to Sri Jayewardenepura General Hospital (SJGH) on the advice of the Consultant Nephrologist.

This patient was later tested COVID-19 positive on 20 October at SJGH. Due to the 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.

Upon this information the hospital has taken the following steps immediately:

A risk assessment was carried out as per MOH guideline dated 24 April titled ‘Management of Accidental Discovery of Suspected COVID-19 Patient in the Hospital’ with the participation of independent consultant physician, consultant intensivist, consultant microbiologist, infection control nursing authority and the medical administration attached to the hospital

Eight staff members have been isolated under the watchful eyes of Public Health Inspectors (PHI)

The area health authorities were informed of the incident and the risk assessment reviewed

PCR tests were carried out immediately on staff and all test results were negative

The staff members will continue to be in quarantine for 14 days and PCR tests will be repeated on day seven and day 14

ETU, patient’s path and all surfaces have been disinfected using 0.1% hypochlorite and 70% alcohol in addition to routine surface disinfection every two hours as per the hospital protocol

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 hand washing and sanitising 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 its patients and employees will continue to be its highest priority and it remains committed to providing quality healthcare, adhering to the best practices in infection control.

Hemas Hospitals is the only hospital in Sri Lanka certified by Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI) with ‘COVID-19 Safety Management Systems Certification (SLS 1672: 2020)’ due to its strict adherence to COVID-19 safety-operational guidelines and health protocols established based on Ministry of Health (MOH), Epidemiology Unit, Centre for Disease Control and World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines.

The hospital was also the first hospital in the country to obtain Australian Council on Healthcare Standards International (ACHSI) global accreditation for quality and patient safety which they continue to be fully compliant with.

Hemas Hospitals will continue to partner the Government of Sri Lanka and the public health system in battling the pandemic by providing accessibility to routine quality and affordable healthcare.