NEW DELHI: Close on the heels of the World Health Organisation (WHO) launching "Global Patient Safety Challenge" on October 13 to fight the spread of health care-associated infections, the Voluntary Organisation in Interest of Consumer Education (VOICE) on Tuesday launched "Patients First", a nation-wide campaign to educate and empower patients to meaningfully engage themselves in deciding the equipment and devices to be used on them during medical procedures.

"Patients First", one of the core programmes of VOICE, has been introduced with the aim of providing the consumer with safe, sound and quality medical care. It will focus on putting pressure on the Government to introduce "compensation for improper service from the health care provider without going to court, asking the health care provider to use good practices, reduce health burden on poor caused due to repeated infections, bringing in accreditation for healthcare sector and above all create a demand for quality product," explained the CEO of VOICE, Bejon Misra.

"In the era of modern technology in the health care delivery system, the consumer has a right to make an informed choice. It is essential to protect the patients from infectious agents that they are likely to encounter during treatment. Contaminated and unsafe medical devices pose a potential source for cross-contamination, infection and injury to patients which can lead to increase in the health care cost, permanent disability and even premature death," he added.

A survey carried out by VOICE among 16 hospitals in Delhi and Mumbai in September found that hospitals engaged in sterilisation and reprocessing of medical devices both reusable and disposable. It was also found that while undertaking any sterilisation process in the department of gastro-enterology -- where the survey was carried out -- only 37.5 per cent doctors were aware of the process of sterilisation. When asked whether they personally supervised the procedure, 100 per cent of the respondents denied it. Most doctors viewed sterilisation as a time-consuming and complex process.

"With more than 1.4 million people worldwide becoming seriously ill from health care-associated infections and with the country having no data of the reuse of surgical drills, biopsy forceps, catheters and laparoscopy scissors, we can't overemphasis the need to be cautious," added Dr. Misra.

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