TV station reports instrument concerns at St. Louis hospital

CBS affiliate KMOV-TV broadcast an investigation last week that reported concerning conditions about the state of surgical instruments at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis.

The TV station said it received tips from anonymous whistleblowers who “are terrified of losing their jobs but felt compelled to speak out” about “potentially contaminated and dirty surgical tools.” BJC Health, the region’s largest hospital system and operator of Barnes-Jewish Hospital, confirmed that some surgeries have been canceled, delayed or relocated as the hospital works to resolve the issue.

The whistleblowers sent the station photos that showed “brownish stains, rust, residue and damage on surgical instruments that experts say could cause infections.”

“Tray after tray after tray was showing up to the OR contaminated,” one whistleblower told KMOV. “One case went through more than 30 trays trying to find clean instruments that had supposedly gone through the sterilizer,” they said.

Barnes-Jewish Hospital representatives declined requests for on-camera interviews but issued a statement that included: “Consistent with our culture of safety, during the normal pre-surgery process, our surgical teams inspect all instruments to ensure they meet our high standards. Instruments that do not meet these standards are rejected and are not used... Due to our rigorous reviews and processes, there have been isolated shortages of surgical instruments available. The shortage caused us to cancel, delay, reschedule, or move the location of some surgeries. We have addressed this with affected patients and families and have apologized for the inconvenience.”

Read the full KMOV-TV report here.