A nurse at the Broward General Medical Center has been suspended by the hospital after they discovered that she had been reusing supplies while dispensing IV fluids during stress tests. The hospital has also urged all patients who may have received treatment with contaminated supplies to get tested for Hepatitis B, Hepatitis, C, and HIV.
The nurse repeatedly reused saline bags and tubing during cardiac stress tests, potentially exposing more than 1,800 patients to dangerous blood-borne diseases. This negligent behavior has been occurring since early in 2004.
The hospital recently discovered the transgression and took immediate action. They received an anonymous phone call on September 1, began an investigation at once, and suspended the nurse eight days later. Broward General Medical Center is currently conducting a rigorous review of the incident and considering changes to hospital protocol to ensure that this behavior does not happen again in the future.
Currently, there have been no reports of any patients getting hepatitis or HIV as a result of the nurse’s actions.
A hospital has an obligation to provide safe treatment to all of its patients. When an employee violates proper safety protocol and injures a patient, both the employee and the hospital may be liable to compensate the victim for damages in medical malpractice
lawsuit.
If you have been injured by the negligent actions of a health care professional in the West Palm Beach, Florida area, please contact Florida medical malpractice attorney Craig Goldenfarb today to schedule your initial consultation.
