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Report: Halifax hospital doctor performed surgery with bacterial infection

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — A Volusia County hospital is under the microscope Thursday.

Investigators said a doctor performed surgery at Halifax Health Medical Center while suffering from a potentially deadly infection.

The hospital is under federal and state scrutiny after an inspection last month found a doctor operated on a patient while having a highly-contagious illness, known as C-Diff.

The report cites Halifax Health Medical Center for various violations and the Daytona hospital has 90 days to prove it won't let it happen again.

The unnamed physician was in the operating room while battling a bacterial infection that typically spreads like wildfire in hospitals, according to the report.

C-Diff is responsible for 14,000 deaths every year.

Documents reveal the doctor was hospitalized in April, but thought he was well enough to operate May 13.

After the procedure, the report said the doctor started showing symptoms again and tested positive for Clostridium Difficile.

Florida's Agency for Healthcare Administration received a complaint soon after. It investigated and found the hospital "failed to ensure infection control practices."

The hospital's infection control boss said in the report it's up to doctors to diagnose their own illness and that "it depends on the honesty of the physician and doing what's right."

The report states the doctor was immediately removed from the facility and it was determined no others were exposed.

WFTV looked back through state records and found the hospital has been fined five times since 2009 for various violations.

Halifax Health is not facing sanctions for the incident and the doctor is not being named.