The Fergus LifeLabs location is one of nine recently investigated by the local health unit.
A member of the public made a complaint in November about infection prevention and control (IPAC) practices at one of the LifeLabs locations in the Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health (WDGPH) region.
While public health is not responsible for routine inspections of corporate labs, once an IPAC complaint is submitted protocol dictates how public health responds, states a report received at the March 1 health unit meeting.
“Upon receiving the IPAC complaint, public health staff collected information from the complainant as to the specific service(s) and IPAC practice(s) of concern, and then visited the laboratory location to perform unannounced inspection,” the report states.
Public health discovered several non-compliant practices, including:
– reuse of single-use items;
– failure to clean and disinfect reusable equipment as per manufacturer instruction;
– failure to appropriately clean and disinfect surfaces that may come into contact with intact client skin; and
– improper hand hygiene practices, including improper use of single-use gloves.
WDGPH conducted unannounced inspections at all area LifeLabs locations – and all were using similar non-compliant practices, the report states.
“Initially I would say the labs weren’t terribly cooperative,” director of health protection Chris Beveridge said at the board meeting. “But over time, as we provided more and more information about the lapses, they became increasingly cooperative until the point where we were able to reassess and they were implementing all our recommendations for IPAC.”
Beveridge said the infection control “lapses” did not apply to “invasive-type procedures … it was reuse of single-use items such as a tourniquet or other piece of equipment that don’t actually invade the surface of the skin. More surface cleaning and surface reusable equipment.”
LifeLabs in Toronto, Peel and Hamilton were also involved.
“We all conducted similar investigations … (and) made our own recommendations,” Beveridge said.
He added the biggest lesson learned was the importance of communication.
Board of health member June Hofland asked what complaints justify a response.
“I would say if a member of the public is concerned about a practice we will go and investigate that practice,” Beveridge said.
“Every complaint is taken seriously.”
LifeLabs did not respond to an interview request by press time.
