Yukon Hospitals has released a report on the recent issue that affected the sterilization of surgical instruments at Whitehorse General Hospital earlier this year.
Between late January and early April 2025, we faced a complex challenge in our Medical Device Reprocessing (MDR) department, which led to the temporary reduction of some surgical services. During this time, patient safety remained our top priority. We acted quickly to preserve emergency surgical capacity, introduced new safety protocols, and developed a partnership with Vancouver General Hospital to send instruments for sterilization, while we investigated and worked to resolve the issue.
The report provides a clear explanation of what happened, the steps taken to resolve the issue, the impact on patients, and how we are strengthening our systems to prevent a similar event in the future. It also includes findings from a third-party expert review and a timeline of events.
We want to thank patients, families, and our broader community for their understanding during this time. We also extend our deep appreciation to the staff and providers who worked tirelessly to maintain care and support surgical services under extraordinary circumstances.
We are committed to transparency and continuous improvement. The lessons from this experience are helping us build greater resilience in our systems and reinforce safe, high-quality care for Yukoners.
Read the report at https://yukonhospitals.ca/en/quality-performance/reports