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Hawke’s Bay District Health Board is prepared for the third junior doctor strike, which will also coincide with a 12 hour midwifery strike, next week at Hawke’s Bay and Wairoa Hospitals.
On Monday (11 February) Hawke’s Bay District Health Board became aware of an issue with a batch of sterilising equipment that was used in Hawke’s Bay Hospital operating theatres, sent to outpatient clinics and used by district nurses between 2 February and 11 February.
Cases of syphilis, a sexually transmissible infection (STI) that can cause serious health problems if left untreated and poses a serious risk to unborn babies, are expected to rise in Hawke’s Bay with national figures more than doubling since 2015.
The district health board is pleased to advise it has made contact with all, but one, of the people at risk from equipment that had not been completely sterilised and was used in Hawke’s Bay Hospital’s operating theatres and sent to outpatient clinics.
Hawke’s Bay Hospital services will be impacted with many outpatient clinics and non-emergency surgeries postponed or put on stand-by due to next week’s planned two day (48 hour) national strike by junior doctors.