UK MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency) orders endoscopy review amid infection fears
This article was originally published in Clinica
The UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has ordered an immediate assessment of all endoscope decontamination processes, amid fears of a heightened risk of infection. The review affects all staff involved not only in reprocessing, but in the "specification for purchase and in the purchasing of endoscopes".
The move, which applies to both rigid and flexible endoscopes, follows the result of an audit of Northern Ireland's entire endoscopy network. Thousands of patients are being warned of a risk of infection, which, however, in most cases is either very low or extremely low.
The speed and wording with which the Northern Ireland Adverse Incident Centre (NIAIC) and the MHRA have reacted hints at the seriousness of the situation. The group of experts assembled for the investigation were backed by the Health Protection Agency. Their findings were published immediately and announced to the rest of the UK.
Following the announcement of the audit results, Northern Ireland CMO Dr Henrietta Campbell announced that her department had commissioned an independent external review in a bid to keep abreast of new technologies.