MOH appoints independent committee to look into Hep C outbreak at Singapore General Hospital

THE Ministry of Health (MOH) has convened an independent review committee to look into an outbreak of the Hepatitis C virus at Singapore General Hospital (SGH).

SGH has seen a cluster of 22 cases of acute Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) among patients with kidney disease who had been admitted to certain wards from April to June.

SGH began its internal investigations in June, and took precautionary measures, after which it made an initial presentation to MOH in late August. The hospital submitted its final report to MOH late last month.

The review committee will look into SGH's findings to see - among other things - if there are any weak points in the overall workflow when it comes to infection control. This will yield learning points for the wider healthcare system.

Chairing the committee is Prof Leo Yee Sin, a director at Tan Tock Seng Hospital. Also on the committee is NUH's senior consultant Prof Lim Seng Gee and Changi General Hospital's head of infectious diseases A/Prof Helen Oh.

Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said: "I have decided to appoint an independent review committee to provide added assurance that there is an objective and critical review of the internal findings by SGH. MOH will share the findings of the Review Committee with the public. Useful learning points will also be shared with the wider healthcare system, in the spirit of learning and continuous improvement. SGH has assured me that it is committed to the care of its patients and will provide its full support and appropriate care to the affected patients. It will also extend its full cooperation to the independent review."

The Review Committee will complete its work in around two months.