The first aid equipment carried in Rescue 1122 ambulances is not sterilised properly before reuse, says a complaint filed with the provincial ombudsman by some Mayo Hospital doctors.
The application, a copy of which is available with The Express Tribune, states that the first aid kit is kept in a drawer in the ambulances. “These instruments require sterilisation before re-use but there are no proper arrangements for sterilisation inside the ambulances and that is why they are spreading hepatitis B, C, HIV and other such hazardous diseases,” the application states.
It does not state any evidence substantiating the claim.
The applicants when asked about the claim said that the equipment was responsible for spreading diseases because it was not sterilised. “You cannot lodge a complaint with the Ombudsman without attaching an affidavit. If we lie in the affidavit, a case can be registered against us,” said Dr Khuda Bakhsh Dreshak, the Mayo Hospitals Young Doctors Association general secretary.
The application requests that a container of glutaraldehyde, a sterilising agent, be fixed in the ambulances so that surgical instruments and endoscopes could be sterilised. Such containers, says the application, “should be built-in… to avoid spread[ing] of the diseases”.
Dr Dareshak said that equipment needs to be soaked in a sterilising chemical for 30 minutes to be considered safe for re-use. Glutaraldehyde can be used to sterilise equipment efficiently for 15 days. After that it needs to be replaced.
He said that Rescue 1122 was using a laryngoscope that had a fixed blade. “Usually disposable blades are used. If the blade is fixed, the laryngoscope needs to be sterilised properly after each use,” he said. Rescue 1122 Public Relations Officer Farooq Ahmad said that they have medical technicians who sterilise the equipment. “We wipe down our ambulances after every emergency,” he said, adding that cleaning is recorded in a register.
An official at the Ombudsman’s office said the office will write to Rescue 1122 and the Health Department for their response. If the replies are considered satisfactory, the matter will be dropped otherwise an inquiry will be initiated.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 12th, 2012.
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What is wrong with our nation! The instruments used in Mayo are not sterilized properly. This is a big JOKE!!! MAYO and all the government hospitals are a major source of HEP B, C and HIV!! I have seen a moth dropping inside the body of the the patient undergoing laprotomy. I have seen OTs where water is dropping from the ceiling.The people performing Sterilization are dirtier than the instruments. For all the people reading this, never ever get treated in any government hospital!
In the picture, why do I see Edhi Ambulances instead of Rescue 1122?