The New Nation - Internet Edition

Sheikh Arif Bulbon

The safety of hospital patients is at stake in the country. It is now believed that the situation is far more serious than normally expected, health experts warned.

According to the estimation of the World Health Organisation (WHO), everyday Bangladesh produces over 1,000 tonnes of health care wastes including injection-related wastes, which are not properly disposed off.

Dr Iqbal Kabir of the WHO said, "Patients' safety is not only a global problem but in Bangladesh it is alarming. Lapses in patients' safety are remarkably common and have been taking an enormous human and financial toll globally." People living in Bangladesh receive more than 5 injections per year and 50 per cent of the injections are 'unsafe'. The unsafe practices include re-use of syringes and needles in the absence of awareness among healthcare workers and the community as a whole to the risk of needle prick injuries, he added.

Neonatal infections in the hospitals and clinics in the country were found to be three to 20 times higher than in the industrialised countries, he claimed. In industrialised countries, one in 10 patients receiving hospital care experience some form of accidental harm such as illness, injury or death. In Bangladesh such unfavourable events are not limited to hospitals, they occur in all healthcare settings including physician's chambers, nursing homes, pharmacies, as well as in the informal, largely free sector where many people seek care from the unqualified health service providers, according to the WHO.

There are inherent risks to all health care products and services in the country. At least half of the adverse events are potentially preventable. Unfavourable events are primarily due to lack in system design, organisation and operation rather than due to individuals.

Dr Sultana Khanum, a health expert of the WHO, said, "Patients' safety is not only about statistics, but about harm to the lives of real people both patients and families and to the health professionals who provide the care. Patients, health professionals and policy makers should work together to make health care safe."

She said at the national level system improvements might include promoting the rational use of medicines and medical devices and monitoring their safety. In a hospital setting, the introduction of the procedures such as standardised treatment guidelines and essential drug lists, the creation of physical barriers such as the special handling and dispensing of potentially harmful drugs when they are delivered into clinical areas or the proper disposal of injection-related or other waste, ensuring ready access to relevant patient information such as a patient's known drug allergies and ensuring adequate training and supervision of health care employees to improve their decisions and clinical judgment.

Human error is not only part of the problem of lapses in patients' safety. Although a more careful approach by the health professionals and employees would prevent many medical errors, there are also chronic problems in health care systems that need to be corrected, said patient safety experts.