Expired Medical Supplies Found in Procedure Cart and Supply Room
Penalty
Summary
During an observation and interview conducted in the facility's treatment cart and medical supply room, surveyors, accompanied by the Director of Staff Development and an LVN, found expired medical supplies that were readily available for use. Specifically, 41 safety intravenous (IV) catheters and nine IV extension sets were identified as being past their expiration dates by three and four days, respectively. Both staff members present confirmed that these items were expired and acknowledged that they should have been discarded. A subsequent interview and review of the facility's Infection Prevention and Control policy with the Chief Nursing Officer revealed that the facility's procedures require regular checks of medical supplies and the removal of expired items. The CNO confirmed that the expired supplies had not been removed as required by policy, and acknowledged that this failure was not in accordance with the facility's infection prevention and control procedures.