ReUsed surgical wound ice paks

[ckm2]

As a new clincal educator on a neuro/spine surg unit for the past year with extensive

infection control experience, I was aghast that our nurses practice was to return used

surgical wound ice paks for refreezing to save money!

Their practice is to put ice paks which had been on a patients wound back to the

med freezer with a patient label and put in a flimsy baggie. Because of the flimsy

bags they fall out and come in contact with other used and new clean ice paks.

I have had the freezer terminally cleaned out with sani wipes and posted a sign

on the freezer that ice paks are single use only and reported to management.

Since then I have found new USED ice paks repeatedly I asked my manager to consult with infection control who unfortunately advised the practice was ok if they got a separate freezer (there are no meds in freezer only the refrigerator) Point understood

but does not resolve problem that we have contaminated paks in contact with

other contaminated paks and new ice paks. So I suggested to my manager

she discuss it chief neuro spine surgeon since they have had quite a few readmits

of spine cases with infections. She has yet to do this.

Even if the ice paks stayed in the cheap baggie (which they dont because as they refreeze the weight is greater than the strength of the flimsy slide lock) the density of the plastic is not sufficient to prevent bacterial transfer from object to object.

I have further plans to address this including transferring to another position where

management understands patient safety and I dont have to explain it.

What processes do you all have to report and mitigate patient harm?

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

You have a hospital infection control nurse (who tracks postop infections) and a risk management department (that is very interested in anything that increases the hospital's exposure to risk). Write this up using extremely calm and dispassionate clinical language, giving facts, product information (serial numbers, size, manufacturer; give a package sample showing where it says "Single Use Only"), dates you spoke to whom and the reaction, and copy both of them and your manager. If the IC nurse has previously opined that this is acceptable because it does not include meds, mention that and ask for a literature citation on the safely of reusing anything labeled "Single Use Only" skin-to-skin without sterilization. Ask for data indicating that the organisms implicated in surgical infections are killed by freezing. (!)

This is your responsibility as a registered nurse under the state nurse practice act and the ANA Scope and Standards of Nursing Practice, which binds all of us. Not to do so is to be complicit in a dangerous practice, and when the excrement hits the impeller, as it assuredly will do someday, you will get splashed too.

[xoemmylouox, ASN, RN]

Disgusting! No wonders patients are being readmitted with infection.. My skin is crawling thinking about it. Please pursue this further. Your patient's lives are at risk.

[Carrie RN]

I am appalled. The CDC would freak I think.

[nrsang97, BSN, RN]

Just gross. We have nothing but single use ICE packs.