Minister defends UHG over tuberculosis cases

Health Minister Simon Harris has said he is satisfied that correct protocol was followed following the outbreak of tuberculosis at University Hospital Galway.

He was questioned in the Dáil on the outbreak, which led to a “substantial number” of people, including staff at the hospital, contracting latent TB.

The Minister said he has been assured by the HSE that the outbreak of the infectious disease – which saw a number of staff contract latent TB – was managed in accordance with guidelines.

Galway West TD Catherine Connolly asked about information provided to him – in line with the ‘Guidelines on the Prevention and Control of Tuberculosis in Ireland’ – and if he was satisfied that correct protocol was observed by the HSE.

She asked if he was “satisfied that the procedures were appropriately rolled out and are sufficiently robust in view of the substantial number of persons, including staff, who contracted latent TB”.

Minister Harris pointed out that protocol for cases of latent TB differs from infectious TB.

“Since 2004, it is mandatory for clinical directors of laboratories to notify a case of TB to the regional director of public health under their role as medical officer of health (MOH). This relates to cases of TB disease only and not to cases of latent TB infection. Latent TB is not a notifiable disease.

“The guidelines deal with many aspects of prevention, diagnosis and control of TB in Ireland and are intended to act as a source of expert advice on tuberculosis.

“The guidelines provide that once a diagnosis of TB is confirmed, it is communicated to the MOH. The MOH is required to report possible, probable and confirmed cases of TB to the HSE’s Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC). This information is published as part of the HPSC’s Weekly Infectious Diseases Report and is available on the HSE’s website.

“In relation to the specific case [at UHG] referred to by the Deputy, my Department sought an update from the HSE. The HSE has assured me that once the case of infectious TB was confirmed, it was managed in accordance with the ‘Guidelines on the Prevention and Control of Tuberculosis in Ireland, 2010’ referred to above. The HSE has also confirmed that this incident has been logged as part of their Quality and Incidents Management system,” Minister Harris said.

Last month, it emerged that a number of patients and staff at UHG had undergone screening for TB after coming into close contact with a patient who had been diagnosed with the infectious disease.

A significant number of the staff at the hospital, who contracted latent tuberculosis, were also provided with counselling and training.

Deputy Connolly previously told the Dáil that it took quite a number of weeks for a diagnosis to be made, during which time the patient was moved between wards – increasing the number of staff and patients exposed to the contagious disease.

Deputy Connolly said that even following the diagnosis of active TB, it took another 24 hours before the patient was isolated. She is aware that at least 14 people have now contracted latent TB including nurses, care staff and another patient.