‘Onlyauto-disable syringes to be used soon’

LAHORE: Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid said here on Tuesday that the government will allow the use of only auto-disable syringes in near future and the use of old syringes will be discontinued.

The minister chaired a high level meeting at the Committee Room of the Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education to review the suggestions to control the reuse of syringes and the progress vis-à-vis introduction of auto disabled syringes.

The meeting was attended by Secretary Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education Department Nabeel Awan, Special Secretary Silwat Saeed, Additional Secretary Dr. Asif Tufail, Vice Chancellor Fatima Jinnah Medical University Dr. Amir Zaman Khan, MD Children Hospital, Prof Salim, Zubair Ijaz, Nasreen Butt, Malik Irshad, Prof. Imran and experts of the infectious disease participated in the meeting. The minister took a review of the progress on hospital waste management and directed that stringent measures must be taken for the implementation of SOPs.

“We have constituted a committee of experts to look after the procurement of auto disabled syringes for public sector hospitals. The Committee will oversee the quality of syringes and ensure competitive rates,” the minister said.

Dr Yasmin Rashid said: “The Punjab Healthcare Commission has been directed to implement the SOPs for disposal of syringes and other infectious waste at hospitals and private laboratories.” The meeting also reviewed the use of new technology for the molding of auto disabled syringes.