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Syringe re-use: not just a developing world problem - it's a global problem

A UK dentist in south Yorkshire reused his old syringes on patients

Dentist: Mohammed Siddiqui

Excerpt from From The Star newspaper:

A SOUTH Yorkshire dentist put patients at risk of deadly infection by reusing syringes, not wearing gloves and using rusty tools and filthy rags.

Mohammed Siddiqui, aged 37, from High Green, faces being struck off after he flouted hygiene rules to "maximise profit" at his Rotherham practice.

A Primary Health Lists appeal tribunal heard he reused disposable equipment, including syringes, files and impression trays, had rusty tools and "actively discouraged" the use of gloves.

Sterilising equipment was "caked" in grime and mouth wash cups were next to the waste disposal system. Surfaces were thick with dust.

Inspectors found he had no blood spillage kit or policy, his decontamination area was "not fit for purpose" and had filthy rags and scrubbing brushes.

Andrew Hockton, for Rotherham PCT, said Siddiqui was cutting corners to save money. The PCT and the Health Protection Agency is probing whether patients caught viruses.

Mr Hockton said: "Dr Siddiqui showed a total lack of regard for patient or staff safety. The inspector said it was one of the worst examples she had ever seen.

"He desired to maximise profit in a manner which put patients at risk."

Mr Siddiqui, of Reaper Crescent, High Green, set up the business on Doncaster Road, Dalton, in 2002. He was shut down after an inspection in May last year.

Siddiqui had received a letter from the PCT in April saying his practice needed a "deep clean". He removed out-of-date stock before the inspection, failed to co-operate during it and later tried to create the impression his staff were to blame.

Mr Hockton said: "He showed a wilful disregard of the principles of good dental practice and he accepts serious professional misconduct. We say that the only appropriate action is removal."

Excerpt from dentistry.co.uk:

A dentist based in Dalton, Rotherham, faces being struck off after an inspection uncovered poor infection control practise and the reuse of single-use equipment, including syringes, files and impression trays.

Mohammed Siddiqui was immediately suspended from the NHS Rotherham dental performers list after former staff raised issues about his infection control standards in 2009, prompting NHS Rotherham and the Health and Safety Executive to conduct an unannounced inspection in May 2009. This means he is not allowed to practise NHS dentistry in Rotherham.

Andrew Hockton, for Rotherham PCT, said Siddiqui was cutting corners to save money. The PCT and the Health Protection Agency is probing whether patients caught viruses.

Further reading:

• State conducts surprise inspection of UW Hospital after syringe incident

• NY Anesthesiologist Uses Syringes Twice! Hepatitis Found

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The Climb Tanzania 2010 is launched

On 26th May, The Climb Tanzania 2010 was launched in conjunction with Mountain Range Restaurants' 5th anniversary celebrations at The Swan in Forest Row.

Photos by Hy Money. See also Hy Money's photos on Facebook.

Background

Marc Koska OBE has worked tirelessly over the last 25 years on Global Healthcare with a particular focus on Injection Safety. After spending years researching the syringe industry, Marc invented an AD (Auto Disable) syringe, the K1 - that physically prevents re-use. To-date Marc and the K1 have been credited with saving well over 9 Million lives but Marc knew from the start that product alone would not stop this silent epidemic, so Marc set up The SafePoint Trust in 2006. The main purpose of SafePoint is to use information to solve this very basic healthcare need, and this is done by delivering hard-hitting public awareness campaigns. Marc and SafePoint work hard to ensure that the public are educated with this lifesaving message, coupled with extensive lobbying for legislation change at ministerial level ensures that this basic human right is restored.

Outline

Marc Koska OBE and The SafePoint Trust would like to invite you to support them on:

The Climb 2010 Kilimanjaro, Tanzania - Rising 4800m above the East African plains, 270km from the shores of the Indian Ocean and measuring up to 40km across, Kilimanjaro is a bizarre geological oddity, the tallest freestanding mountain in the world and one formed, shaped, eroded and scarred by the twin forces of fire and ice. It is actually a volcano, or rather three volcanoes, with the two main peaks, Kibo and Mawenzi, the summits of two of those volcanoes.

Five team members will climb the mountain armed with 20 flags – each flag will be fully branded with a logo from each sponsor. Day seven will see them at the peak of the mountain, at this point a photographer will ensure each flag is photographed capturing the stunning view and the euphoric atmosphere of the team.

On the teamʼs return the UK sponsors will get a framed glossy photograph of their flag at the peak. Along with this your company will feature heavily in all publicity around the event including a press release, national and regional newspapers, regional TV and radio stations and leading business / lifestyle magazines. The whole event will be posted on facebook, twitter and will have its own blog. Sponsors can also make their logo available to feature on the kit of the climbers.

A one-off donation of £5,000 to buy a flag is all that is required and 90% of this donation / sponsorship money will enable us to give Two Million syringes to Tanzania. SafePoint will present the container of syringes to the Hon Prof. David Mwakyusam, Heath Minister of Tanzania once they have finished the climb.

Why Tanzania?

Tanzania are at the forefront of safe healthcare in Africa, they are to become one of only two countries converted to using AD syringes in the ECSA Region. With their policy already in place, trained healthcare workers and a public information film donated by SafePoint they are ready to reduce country medical costs and ease the HIV / Hepatitis disease burden. More importantly with this donation we will ensure they have enough product to stock the 26 regions at the start of this initiative.

Facts and figures on unsafe healthcare:

• Each and every year due to unsafe injections there are:
• 23,000 HIV Infections
• 1,000,000 Hepatitis C Infections
• 21,000,000 Hepatitis B Infections
• RESULTING IN 1,300,000 DEATHS EACH YEAR (Source: WHO World Health Organisation)
• Some 17 billion injections are given each year, and 7 billion of these are unsafe medical injections (Source: Hutin 2003)
• Malaria kills 1,000,000 - so this silent epidemic kills more people each year (Source: WHO World Health Organisation)
• In Africa 20 million medical injections contaminated with blood from a patient with HIV are administered every year (Source: Reid 2009)
• At least 50% of injections given were unsafe (Source: WHO World Health Organisation)
• A syringe is used on average 7 times in the developing world
• Every 24 seconds a child dies as a result of an unsafe injection

Marc Koska OBE launches The Climb Tanzania 2010

Further information

Mountain Range Restaurants are supporting The SafePoint Trust on their Climb 2010. Mountain Range also celebrate their five year anniversary this year in conjunction with this SafePoint will send five people to climb Kilimanjaro raising money to donate syringes to Tanzania.

http://www.marckoska.com/
http://www.safepointtrust.org/

You can reach the SafePoint Team on: 01825 713722 or via email: info@safepointtrust.org
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Marc Koska OBE Launches Safe Injection Project at Mountain Range Restaurants’ 5th Anniversary

Ginny Simpson, Clare Beale, Marc and Anna Koska
(photo by Hy Money)

Mountain Range Restaurants celebrate their 5th Anniversary at The Swan, Forest Row, whilst supporting Marc Koska’s local charity, The SafePoint Trust.

Sponsored climb of Mount Kilimanjaro announced to make Tanzania a safe injection country.

Forest Row, East Sussex - Marc Koska OBE and his charity, The SafePoint Trust, recently launched an exciting new project for Tanzania at The Swan Mountain Range Restaurant in Forest Row during Mountain Range’s 5th anniversary celebrations.

Generously supported by David Downard, Mountain Range Restaurants CEO, guests were warmly invited to congratulate the company for a successful 5 years in business as well as to celebrate Marc Koska’s achievements in global healthcare and to support his charity The SafePoint Trust on their next venture: “The Climb Tanzania 2010”.

A team of three mothers from East Sussex have taken up the challenge to climb Mount Kilimanjaro to raise enough money (£100,000) to enable The SafePoint Trust to donate 2 million AD (Auto Disable) syringes to Tanzania. This will enable Tanzania to kick start this safe injection healthcare project and so become a safe injection country. They plan to present the donation to Tanzania’s minister for Health and Social Welfare, Prof David Mwakyusathe, in person shortly after they finish the climb, which is set to take place at the end of October 2010. It is likely to take about 7 days to reach the summit. The climbers, who will very quickly have to get used to high altitudes, are:

• Anna Koska (Marc’s wife and SafePoint Supporter)
• Ginny Simpson (SafePoint)
• Clare Beale (SafePoint Supporter)
  

Fund raising

The SafePoint Trust is encouraging local businesses to buy a flag for £5,000 each. All flags will journey up to the summit of 19,365 ft and be photographed with the climbers, capturing their euphoric moment. Those businesses which buy flags will of course feature heavily in all publicity that surrounds the climb, since collectively, by donating 2 Million syringes to Tanzania, they will ensure that a total of 700,000 people will receive safe injections.

David Downard with Marc Koska
(photo by Hy Money)

Why Tanzania?

Tanzania is at the forefront of safe healthcare in Africa and is to become one of only two countries converted to using AD syringes in the ECSA Region (Eastern, Central and Southern Africa). With their policy already in place, trained healthcare workers and a public information film produced and donated by SafePoint, the country is ready to reduce its medical costs and ease its HIV/Hepatitis disease burden. More importantly, with this donation in place, Tanzania will have sufficient AD syringes to stock all 26 regions throughout the entire country from the very start of this initiative.

Facts and figures on unsafe healthcare

• Each and every year due to unsafe injections there are:

o 23,000 HIV Infections
o 1,000,000 Hepatitis C Infections
o 21,000,000 Hepatitis B Infections
o Resulting in 1,300,000 deaths each year
(Source: WHO World Health Organisation)

• Some 17 billion medical injections are given each year, and 7 billion of these are unsafe
(Source: Hutin 2003)

• Malaria kills 1,000,000 - so this silent epidemic – unsafe injections - kills even more people each year
(Source: WHO World Health Organisation)

• In Africa, 20 million medical injections, contaminated with blood from a patient with HIV, are administered every year
(Source: Reid 2009)

• At least 50% of injections given, globally, are unsafe
(Source: WHO World Health Organisation)

• A syringe is used on average 7 times in the developing world

• Every 24 seconds, a child dies as a result of an unsafe injection

For more information about Mountain Range Restaurants, visit: http://www.mountainrangerestaurants.co.uk

About Marc Koska OBE and The SafePoint Trust

Marc Koska OBE has worked tirelessly over the last 25 years on global healthcare with a particular focus on injection safety. After spending years researching the syringe industry, Marc invented an AD (Auto Disable) syringe - the K1 - that physically prevents re-use. To date, Marc and the K1 have been credited with saving well over 9 million lives, but Marc knew from the start that product alone would not stop this silent epidemic. So he founded The SafePoint Trust in 2006. The main purpose of SafePoint is to use information to solve this very basic healthcare need. This is done by delivering hard-hitting public awareness campaigns. Marc and SafePoint work hard to ensure that the public are educated with this lifesaving message, coupled with extensive lobbying for legislative changes at ministerial level, to ensure that this basic human right is restored. For more information, visit: http://www.marckoska.com and http://www.safepointtrust.org

For more information, please contact:

Ginny Simpson
SafePoint Trust UK
The Granary
Pippingford
East Sussex
TN22 3HW

+44 (0)1825 713722
info@safepointtrust.org
http://www.safepointtrust.org

Press release submitted by: WorldWidePR.net
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Marc Koska: The Man Who Saved 9 Million Lives

Marc Koska, founder of The SafePoint Trust was interviewed for an article entitled 'Marc Koska: The Man Who Saved 9 Million Lives' in the current issue of Peter Gillham's magazine Organic Connections.

The article starts:
"Unique is a good word to describe Marc Koska. 'Since I was a kid, I always wanted to get involved in a large intervention on a big scale,' he told Organic Connections. 'I was always looking for something. If I had lived 200 years ago, I would have wanted to be the guy who killed all the rats in the Black Death. And I started having that drive when I was about six.'

Organic Connections: Marc Koska: The Man Who Saved 9 Million Lives

Unlike many others, Marc never forgot his dream; as a young adult, he was always on the lookout—and one day he stumbled upon it. 'Years went by and I didn’t really settle into anything because I was still waiting for my big moment,' he recounted. 'Then in May 1984, I read a newspaper article that discussed the fact that reused syringes would be a major transmission route for HIV. That was exactly the bit that I was looking for.' Marc was 23 at the time."

To read the full article visit the Organic Connections website.

For more information on Marc, his life and activities, please visit his website at www.marckoska.com.

For further data on Star Syringes, see their website at www.starsyringe.com.

To learn more about SafePoint Trust, visit www.safepointtrust.org.

Marc Koska talks at DLD Conference 2010, Munich

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http://video.dld-conference.com/watch/KWl0UQE?t=dld10%2Cpanels&gal=sessions

Click here for a full transcription of this talk

Marc Koska is on stage now. He really (literally) saved millions of lives.
by Peter Bihr at 1/25/2010 4:12:15 PM25 January 2010 16:12:15

MK: This will be lowest tech presentation you will see today.
by is at 1/25/2010 4:12:37 PM25 January 2010 16:12:37

MK: This will be the lowest tech presentation of today. It's about syringes.
by Peter Bihr at 1/25/2010 4:12:48 PM25 January 2010 16:12:48

Misuse of syringes kill more people than malaria
by is at 1/25/2010 4:13:29 PM25 January 2010 16:13:29

Reuse of syringes is a big problem for spread of HIV
by is at 1/25/2010 4:13:46 PM25 January 2010 16:13:46

Some syringes were used more than 25 times. He's going to show some undercover footage.
by Peter Bihr at 1/25/2010 4:14:24 PM25 January 2010 16:14:24

Patients are often given the choice to pick the needle
by is at 1/25/2010 4:15:09 PM25 January 2010 16:15:09

There are cases of syringes are being used over 100 times
by is at 1/25/2010 4:15:57 PM25 January 2010 16:15:57

Syringes are being recycled.
by is at 1/25/2010 4:16:16 PM25 January 2010 16:16:16

Mostly kids in developing countries are doing the recycling which leads to infection
by is edited by Viki Stahl at 1/25/2010 4:16:49 PM25 January 2010 16:16:49

People are misinformed about the problems with old syringes.
by is at 1/25/2010 4:17:27 PM25 January 2010 16:17:27

Misuse is another problem: Kids use the syringes as water pistols. But they sometimes also use them to shoot water into their mouth even if they're still bloody.
by Peter Bihr at 1/25/2010 4:18:03 PM25 January 2010 16:18:03

The solution is a safer product!
by Peter Bihr at 1/25/2010 4:18:40 PM25 January 2010 16:18:40

Marc Koska studied and developed a product that can solve a lot of the problems
by is at 1/25/2010 4:19:54 PM25 January 2010 16:19:54

If people in developing countries can not rely on their doctors to do the right thing, they need to rely in the product to make them safe
by is at 1/25/2010 4:20:39 PM25 January 2010 16:20:39

The syringe is a single use syringe that breaks after used once
by is at 1/25/2010 4:20:56 PM25 January 2010 16:20:56

The goal is to deploy the new syringe as cheaply as the current syringes
by is at 1/25/2010 4:22:15 PM25 January 2010 16:22:15

"everybody can afford Coca Cola, so they can afford a safe injection"
by Peter Bihr at 1/25/2010 4:22:34 PM25 January 2010 16:22:34

They got about 40% of Indian hospitals to use his non-reusable syringes.
by Peter Bihr at 1/25/2010 4:25:26 PM25 January 2010 16:25:26

50% of all injections are unsafe
by is at 1/25/2010 4:26:23 PM25 January 2010 16:26:23

Since the first of these syringes were sold hardly ten years ago, 1.8 billion syringes have been sold, saving about 9 million lives.
by Peter Bihr at 1/25/2010 4:27:29 PM25 January 2010 16:27:29

Marc Koska (Safe Point) invented a syringe that wouldn't work a second time, making it impossible to re-use. And thus saved more than nine million lives. Here's the story behind all this.

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DLD is an inspiring community for the 21st century which features digital innovation, science and culture and brings together thought leaders, creators, entrepreneurs and investors from Europe, the Middle-East, the Americas and Asia. With global diversity in attendees and an interdisciplinary perspective of digital, media, design, art, science, brands, consumers and society, the conference is known as the European forum for the "creative class".
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Dirty needles and children

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A bit of common sense

By Gina Barker

What is one of the greatest killers in the world? What spreads disease all across third world countries?

It’s the same product we use every day to prevent and treat disease here in the United States.

The killer is the hypodermic needle. And it is sad that a product of convenience and luxury in one nation means the spread of disease in another. In developing nations and the third world, normal clinical practices include reusing the hypodermic needle so that hundreds of patients might use the same needle over and over again.

Each year 1.3 million people are infected and die from dirty needles. This number now surpasses the total number of malaria deaths in a year. In India alone, two-thirds of injections are using unsafe needles.

Parents in these nations are at risk just for taking their new baby to the local hospital for normal vaccinations. Baby’s first tetanus shot could infect them with hepatitis or HIV. Parents don’t know where that needle came from and didn’t see anyone unwrap it. It’s a safe bet that needle has been in contact with hundreds of patients all day.

Even before that, there is an entire market for digging through the garbage, finding discarded needles, giving them a quick rinse and repackaging them to sell to hospitals. Children in Pakistan can make several cents a day just picking through garbage looking for used syringes, where they are often stabbed hundreds of times just in the process of looking for these needles. That needle dug up in the trash could be the same needle vaccinating a child. Did it carry HIV? It’s a thought most parents don’t even consider because of an over-trust in doctors using western medicine.

A substantial number of “dirty needle deaths” are children. According to SafePoint, a nonprofit organization working to prevent unsafe injections and educate on proper medical care, every 24 seconds a child dies as a result of an unsafe injection. And each of these deaths is easily prevented. In one fell swoop, spreading disease with the reuse of dirty needles could stop completely. Marc Koska is the inventor of the K1 single-shot syringe. The way the syringe works is that once the initial shot is given and the plunger is pushed all the way to the bottom, pulling the syringe back to reload will break the plunger, making it impossible, or at least extremely frustrating, to use a second time. Best part of all this, the syringe uses all the same parts already in use in syringe production and costs just 5 cents.

Avert.org, another nonprofit organization focused on preventing AIDS in Europe, claims Eastern Europe has the world’s fastest growth rate of HIV/AIDS infections, and this is largely due to dirty needles.

In a New York Times article dating from 1990, orphanages in Romania experienced a boom of HIV/AIDS orphans, most presumed infected by sharing needles. This story took years to unfold as the pattern became recognized. AIDS infections created an invisible border between Eastern and Western Europe, the former Soviet and the rest, and this border still exists.

The technology that was meant to save people resulted in the infection and death of millions.

The single-shot syringe is now standardized in several nations. Using any other kind of needle is illegal in some cases, but this is a battle far from seeing the end. Making sure safe injection practices are used in a nation where no standard one-shot system exists means convincing local clinics and hospitals to willingly choose the slightly more expensive syringe.

We’re talking pocket change in America to prevent the deaths of millions around the world. It’s an interesting thought next time you have blood drawn for a test or get the seasonal flu shot that you lucked out. That’s a clean needle in your arm, a fact a majority of the world can’t match.

First published on Weber State University's "The Signpost", 25 Nov 09
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Nikon Owner magazine captures Marc’s work in India

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Single Use - A Modern Morality Tale by Gillian Greenwood, Nikon Owner magazine -

Simon Stafford, Technical Editor of Nikon Owner magazine, accompanied Marc and members of SafePoint for ten days and recounted his experiences via a series of beautifully shot pictures capturing vibrant people and places, but also devastating evidence of needles being re-used.

He saw first-hand harrowing scenes in surgeries and clinics with medical staff throwing blood-stained needles in buckets under counters ready to be used again on many sick and frail members of the public waiting outside. Moving from New Delhi, to Pune and then Jaipur, Simon witnessed Marc and his team delivering their powerful message to the public on the effects that unsafe injections can have.

Safepoint founder's TED talk shown on CNN site on World AIDS Day

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Entitled,"The price of saving a life is a few pennies", Marc Koska's TED talk was added to CNN's Opinion site on 1 December 2009, World AIDS Day:

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/marc_koska_the_devastating_toll_of_syringe_reuse.html

• Reuse of syringes costs an estimated 1.3 million lives a year

• Syringes can spread blood-borne diseases such as HIV and hepatitis

• Low-cost syringes that can be used only once are produced
  

• India has mandated use of auto-disable syringes
  

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