Opting for one-time syringe

This follows from the National Policy on Injection Safety adopted in line with the latest WHO guidelines on the subject. The health ministry has finally turned its attention to a poorly guarded route through which some deadly diseases have been spreading. The dangers associated with reusable syringes are well known, but precious little was done in the past to eliminate them. The problem has become all the more acute with the increased vulnerability of people to HIV and some other incurable infections.

So the decision to introduce AD syringes in the Extended Programme of Immunisation (EPI) couldn't have come a day later. However, the health ministry officials themselves have said that a safe disposal mechanism will have to be evolved for the new plastic syringes. This is in fact true about hospital waste disposal in general. We are still nowhere near observing the rules of safe waste disposal that are followed in all modern hospitals abroad. The formation of a 21-member committee, which will suggest ways for safe disposal of the AD syringes, indicates that the decision-makers have attached due importance to the issue. We believe similar sensitivity would be shown to disposal of all other hospital wastes.

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The practice must extend to the private sector because the huge number of clinics and diagnostic centres operated by it cannot be allowed to remain outside its pale.

Now that international cooperation in the field of immunisation is increasing to ward off incidences of deadly diseases, we ought to take full advantage of it by strictly following the global safety regulations and standards.