Water damage at Mehiläinen Länsi-Pohja Central Hospital prompts investigation into operating room safety

During the winter, Mehiläinen Länsi-Pohja Central Hospital experienced a one-time moisture damage incident when water leaked into one of its operating rooms. Although the room underwent a thorough cleaning, surgeries continued until June, when the operating room was placed under a usage ban as a precautionary measure after the Lapland welfare area’s infection control unit was notified of the water damage.

Microbial testing conducted in July revealed the presence of bacterial colonies in the room, although no mold was detected. According to Infection Control Chief Markku Broas, no microbes should be present in an empty operating room at all. He emphasized that the standards indicate no microbial colonies should be found per cubic meter of air in such facilities.

Outi Nyberg, Medical Director of Mehiläinen Länsi-Pohja, confirmed via email that patient safety was not compromised while surgeries were conducted in the affected room, as it was used infrequently. A thorough cleaning took place after the water damage, and there have been no signs of surgical infections.

Notifications regarding the incident were made to the hospital’s technical department as soon as the water damage occurred, prompting necessary investigations and actions. Broas explained that assessing the risk of patient harm retrospectively is challenging due to the lack of initial measurement data.

Nyberg added that the decision to carry out microbial testing in July arose from a quality control meeting, where testing was ordered for the affected and other rooms. Currently, there are enough operating rooms at the hospital to maintain normal surgical operations without needing to transfer procedures to Rovaniemi. Prior to any renovation decision, the usage-restricted areas will undergo detailed technical investigations. Plans for restoring the operating rooms have already commenced, including replacing HEPA filters and optimizing ventilation.