Safety achievement celebrated

Managers and staff at Dunedin Hospital celebrated with cake yesterday because the intensive care unit had achieved 1000 days without a central line associated bacteraemia (Clab).

The bloodstream infection is caused by central line catheters. It can lead to longer hospital stays and costs of up to $54,000, Southern District Health Board said.

Avoiding the infections has been a national health target since 2012.

Health board director of quality Tina Gilbertson said the achievement reflected efforts across a range of health board services to improve patient safety.