The problem at a colposcopy clinic at the Miramichi Regional Hospital began in May 1999 and was detected on May 24 of this year, the province's Horizon Health Network said Wednesday.
"I on behalf of everyone at Horizon apologize for this error and the resulting apprehension this may cause our patients," said John McGarry, the CEO of the Horizon Health Network.
"While I firmly believe that disclosing this information is the right thing to do, I cannot underscore strongly enough that the risk of infection to any of our patients is extremely low."
McGarry said the problem began when the clinic started reusing biopsy forceps without sterilizing them in order to handle a growing patient load. While all of the biopsy forceps were sterilized at the end of every day, during the day some forceps were only cleaned and disinfected before being reused, he said.
"If there were eight patients in the day, chances are the first five patients received sterilized instruments from the night before, but the next three would have had reprocessed instruments that occurred during the day," McGarry told a news conference in Miramichi.
McGarry said it took three months to notify the public about the problem because the health authority had to first ensure that proper sterilization procedures were in place at other hospitals in the province as well as determine the risk of infection.
