The Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital (JDWNRH) says it has put in place several measures to control future outbreaks of Healthcare Associated Infections (HAIs) in the aftermath of the recent outbreak that led to the deaths of nine newborns.
A news release from the JDWNRH says the management discussed and endorsed seven short-term recommendations recently.
The move follows a letter from the interim government calling on the hospital to immediately implement short-term recommendations to prevent such incidents in the future.
The news release states the deaths of nine babies at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the JDWNRH between July 23 and August 6 was caused by an outbreak of HAIs.
The mothers of the newborns were referred from district hospitals due to pregnancy-related complications and had to undergo emergency caesarean-section.
The babies were born preterm and low birth weight of less than two kilograms requiring admission in NICU.
The hospital says the use of substandard disinfectant, understaffing and fewer trained staffs, overcrowding with visitors, inadequate infrastructure and poor compliance of the parents in sterilising feeding materials could have been some of the contributing factors, which put babies at higher risk of infection.
It also states water contamination in the hospital as the other probable cause.
The recommendations include an urgent need for an infection control unit in the hospital and the in-charge of the unit and the maintenance division to work together to ensure water stagnation and drain blockages are cleared immediately.
The Department of Directorate Service and the Procurement Division will ensure a continuous supply of infection control materials in coordination with the unit in-charges. And strict crowd control measures have been put in place among others.
While some of the recommendations are already implemented, the hospital says, some will be implemented immediately.
