PESHAWAR, May 19: Use of unsterilized instruments and other practices have been causing infections to patients, many doctors and technicians told Dawn on Saturday.

Most of the patients visiting the Khyber College of Dentistry for extraction of teeth are the worst victims. The dental surgeons use the same instrument for all patients coming for extraction of teeth. Not only extraction of teeth, but the instruments used for filling, route canal treatment (RCT) and scaling etc, were used for several patients. According to doctors repeated use of these instruments caused several infections to patients which largely went unreported.

Similarly, the instruments used in operation theatres and dressing rooms of both private and government hospitals caused infection to the patients. Many times, the surgeons have complained  of poor sterilization system in government hospitals. They argue that they prescribe a host of antibiotics to the patients on precautionary basis.

“Some of the patients do not need antibiotics after operations but we give them to save them from being infected with fatal ailments like hepatitis and Aids,” said a surgeon at Lady Reading Hospital. According to him, they used one endoscope for all patients because it was difficult for the staff to get the machine sterilised after every case.

Another surgeon said that they do not advise HCV and HIV tests to the patients before their operation because the chemicals used for the test weren’t available at the hospital and the patients were unable to do it from outside. This has caused much trouble to the patients.

Further more, the dispensers and dressers use only two and three instruments for dressing, stitching etc which also caused infection. The situation at public hospital is more alarming given the fact that injured people who are brought to emergency wards of the hospital,  are  given medical help with  same instruments. There is no proper sterilization system in the emergency departments of government-run hospitals to boil the instruments and get them sterilised.

“We have only one boiler machine which is out of order for the last several months. It has been reminded several times to the hospital administration but to no avail,” said a paramedic at a city hospital.

Endotracheal tubes which are put in patients’ trachea during operation to maintain his respiration, is also used for all patients. The surgeons say that this practice was harmful for the patients because some of the patients with HIV-positive can infect others. Likewise, stomach tubes, flatus tubes and folleys’ catheters which are used for serious ill patients, may cause fatal infections to the patients.

Another major source of infection is the re-use of disposable syringes. Many patients develop injection abscess after being administered injection with used syringes. The ward attendants and other employees of the public sector hospitals, collect the used syringes from the dust-bins which are sold in markets. From where they are transported to a so-called syringe manufacturing  factories to be repacked and  recycled and remarketed. This is dangerous for the health of people. The doctors say that the hospital staff should not use the syringes which aren’t properly packed.

According to the X-ray technicians at the city’s hospitals they carry out the Ba-Enema test without sterilization.

The causes are many. The health workers themselves are exposed to contracting numerous infectious ailment because they do not have the masks and glove to wear undertaking any medical activity. This can cause infection to the patients. “Let alone masks and surgical gloves, we do not have soap to wash our hands with. The matter has been reported to the hospital administration several times but no action is forthcoming,” said a health worker at Hayatabad Medical Complex.