New Delhi, December 17
Admitting that 69 per cent of the injections given at government hospitals were unsafe, the government today said a decision had been taken to introduce auto disposable syringes.
Citing the draft report of a study funded by the World Bank, Health Minister A. Ramadoss told the Rajya Sabha that 35 per cent of injections given at government hospitals were unsafe because of improper sterilisation, while another 34 per cent were unsafe because of wrong injection habits of injection givers.
In order to reduce unsafe injections, the government has taken a decision to introduce auto disposable syringes in all immunisation clinics and central government hospitals from 2005, he said.
He said auto disposable syringes could not be used again while there was possibility of re-use of disposable syringes by unscrupulous elements.
The minister said as per the study, 74.5 per cent of the injections were administered by using plastic syringes and the rest by glass syringes, which were more likely to be unsafe.
He said around 300 crore injections were given every year in the country. The number of injections given to infants was almost twice as compared to older individuals.
