A hospital director and his deputy in Henan Province have been fired after patients contracted hepatitis C while undergoing dialysis treatment there.
Patients were infected with the virus at the dialysis clinic in Xin'an County People's Hospital due to chaotic management, investigators found.
One-time products were reused and dialysis patients with the virus were not separated from others, leading to cross-infection, Xinhua news agency reported yesterday.
Six patients were confirmed to have contracted hepatitis C while undergoing dialysis at the hospital and another eight are undergoing tests to establish if they have the disease, Henan Health Department said at the weekend.
Lu Song, 61, was found to have contracted hepatitis C after he was transferred to another hospital for dialysis treatment in August. Before that, Lu had received dialysis for more than three years at Xin'an People's Hospital.
Another patient, Liang Xiaonao, also contracted the virus. "I believe dozens of patients contracted the virus," Liang told Xinhua.
The hospital didn't separate a dialysis patient with hepatitis C from other patients for more than six months, Liang said. In addition, many one-time items were reused by the hospital and all medical appliances were put in the same sink for cleaning.
Under Health Ministry regulations, hepatitis patients should have separate facilities and non-staff workers should be strictly prohibited from entering the dialysis area.
The Health Bureau of Luoyang City, which oversees Xin'an, has dispatched staff to run the dialysis clinic in Xin'an People's Hospital.
A separate room to process medical waste and a passageway for medical workers have been set up, Wang Qianshou, an official with Luoyang Oriental Hospital, who is leading the team, told Xinhua.
Some patients suspected Xin'an People's Hospital concealed the infection.
Lu's wife learnt her husband had contracted the disease in July. In a bid to stop her from disclosing the scandal, the hospital offered free dialysis each month, Lu's daughter told Xinhua.
Patients who contracted hepatitis C will receive free treatment and compensation, Xin'an county officials said.