BD on safe injection drive

To popularise safe injection practices, global medical technology company Becton, Dickinson and Company (BD) has firmed up measures to take the message across the country through a variety of initiatives.

Rajnish Rohatgi, general manager - Medical, BD, said according to a study 60.5 per cent of the injections given in India are unsafe due to reasons such as wrong habits of injection givers, re-use of syringes and questionable sterility of syringes.

“We realise the grave danger hidden in such circumstances, and as the world’s largest manufacturer of disposable syringes, are kicking off a variety of steps toward ensuring safe injection practices,” Rohatgi said.

Towards this, the company has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP)– Kerala to offer educational and training programmes on safe injection practices for medical students across the state.

“We propose to take it forward and are hopeful of popularising the concept across Kerala and later across various states in India,” Rohatgi added.

The IAP plans to reach out to 1,500 medical students in 15 medical colleges, both private and government, every year.

‘Safe injections a must’

As part of the Kerala launch of the initiative, the BD-IAP workshop deliberated on the need for creating increased awareness among the medical fraternity as well as in the society, to safeguard themselves against the threats posed by unhealthy practices in the procedure.

It was pointed out that in a country like India where less than two billion syringes are produced a year, five to six billion injections are administered annually, clearly indicating widespread ‘mismanagement, negligence and unprofessional conduct’.

Speaking at the workshop, Dinesh Arora, director, National Rural Health Mission– Kerala, said efforts would be taken to ensure maximum safety to patients admitted in government hospitals in the state by imparting training and creating the right awareness in this regard.

Resource persons at the workshop pointed out that injections need to be administered using a sterile syringe and needle and employing the correct technique.