Twelve C. Difficile cases at Royal Columbian Hospital

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NEW WESTMINSTER (NEWS1130) – The C. Difficile outbreak at Royal Columbian Hospital means the emergency room is a little busier than usual.

Twelve cases have been reported in two separate units, which are closed off to patients in an effort to stop the spread.

“If we can’t admit patients to [the units] it backs up automatically into emergency,” says Fraser Health Authority Executive Medical Director Dr. Roy Morton.  

“The ER today, I understand, is better than yesterday, though I’m not entirely sure of the numbers. All physicians have been asked to expedite discharges as best they can and they’ve been very cooperative. If someone can possibly be moved out into the community, they’re being moved out into the community.”
    
Of the 12 patients infected with C. Difficile, nine are symptomatically improving.

Cleaning staff have been using a powerful bleach solution in what Morton calls “twice-daily double cleans.”

The cleanings started on Monday and will continue for four weeks. The hospital is also focusing on hand washing and the proper use of antibiotics to contain the outbreak.

Earlier this year, a group of doctors claimed 84 patients died from C. Difficile at Burnaby Hospital since 2009.

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