Four patients are in stable condition after water supplying their dialysis machines was contaminated by some sort of cleaning chemical at the Royal Alexandra Hospital on Saturday.

The patients, who were hooked up to the machine containing the chemical, were being closely monitored after it was found that a valve was accidentally turned on during regular system cleaning. The valve caused the release of the chemical into the dialysis machine water supply.

“We apologize for this incident – it should not have happened. We are working with our patients and families to support them,” read a statement from Alberta Health Services. “It is important to note that there is no longer any risk to any patients.”

The contamination was discovered during regular monitoring.

The contaminated water supply was immediately turned off, and while the supply was being cleaned the hospital put patients on portable dialysis machines.

An AHS spokesperson said that as of around noon the water supply had been “thoroughly flushed and cleaned” and was back to normal.

Dialysis machines filter a patient’s blood, and is primarily used for those with reduced kidney function or failure.

The water used in dialysis treatment needs to be pure, and the lines in the machine itself need to be cleaned regularly.

@ClaireTheobald

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