It was a normal but slightly busy day at my clinic where I have been practicing since many years. As I was going through the examinations I came across one of my very old patients. The last time I had seen her she was in good physical health and was about to immigrate to a foreign country. But this time I was shocked to see her frail and in deteriorating health. On my inquiring, she told me that before leaving the country she had gone through a major cosmetic surgical procedure by a renowned dermatologist. Unfortunately after a few months of the procedure she fell ill and was diagnosed with hepatitis C. The disease forced her to come back to Pakistan as she could not afford the expensive medical treatment abroad.

This is one of the many incidents where because of the use of unsterilised and sub-standard medical and surgical instruments at clinical or hospital set-ups, thousands of people are unknowingly contracting fatal diseases like hepatitis B, C and HIV. Unfortunately, with increased commercialisation of the healthcare system and the inclusion of ill-trained moneymakers in it, the number of patients falling victim to these dangerous diseases is increasing at an alarming rate. In this regard, infection control is of prime importance, which means to ensure prevention of any spread of infection among patients, healthcare providers and visitors.

An important aspect in the prevention of spread of infectious disease during or after any surgical procedure is the patient’s awareness and knowledge about how a disease is transmitted. Masooma, a 45-year-old lady suffering from hepatitis C, explains how she fell victim to this virus: “When I went to a well-known dental clinic for some procedure I suspected that the dentist was not using sterilised dental instruments, but since I was not very aware of infection control, I did not inquire about anything before my treatment and that cost me my health”.

Every patient who goes into any healthcare system, surgical or non-surgical, must be vigilant enough to assess and inquire about cleanliness and safety of the environment. Before undergoing any surgical (including dental) procedure the patient must ask the staff and the treating physician about what measures are being used in the particular health set-up to prevent spread of most contagious, chronic and life-threatening diseases like hepatitis C, B and HIV which are transmitted from one person to another via blood or use of unsterilised and infected surgical/non-surgical instruments.

While it’s not possible to prevent all infections, there are ways through which both the patient as well as the healthcare providing staff can decrease the risk and possibilities of contracting any infection.

Role of the patient Patients undergoing any sort of medical/dental procedure must ensure that the instruments or tools which are being used on them are new or have been properly sterilised. Usually the larger hospital set-ups do have their own sterilisation chambers and units to manage the whole process, however, in smaller clinical set-ups the patient must insist that (s)he be told about their sterilisation system. Besides this, the patient must insist that his/her surgeon and the auxiliary staff are using masks, gloves and protective cloth coverings before they touch the patient.

Role of healthcare provider Having the responsibility of giving the best possible healthcare to the patient, the staff of any clinic or hospital also bears an important responsibility and role and they must not compromise on the safety standards of any procedures. They must ensure that before a patient enters the examination or treatment room, all exposed surfaces which can come in contact with the patient have been cleaned and decontaminated and the tools and instruments have been cleaned and sterilised. Disposable instruments and needles should never be reused and should be properly discarded according to the standards of safety control. For their own safety, the staff should also wear protective gloves, masks, gowns and eyewear.

It’s also very important that the healthcare staff as well as the patients should get themselves properly vaccinated against hepatitis B.

In a society where corruption and malpractice in every field is rampant, the policy of ‘prevention is better than cure’ is the key to a healthy and productive life both for the patient and the healer.