PESHAWAR: The health department has started rapid screening of patients before their surgery at public sector hospitals to prevent spread ofinfectious diseases.

`The rapid screening programme has begun two months ago at all the public sector medical teaching institutions and district headquarters hospitals of the province where the patients, who are to be operated upon the next day, are being tested,` Dr Kalimullah Khan, manager of hepatitis control pro-gramme, told Dawn.

He said that they provided WHOapproved kits to the hospitals to ensure that each and every patient was tested for hepatic B and C prior to their surgeries. He said that technicians visited surgical, orthopedic, ENT, eye and gynea wards where they screened the patients.

Dr Kalimullah said that the screening result was made available within a minute. He added that it was important to screen all the patients to protect other people present in the operation theatre from the infection.

All the government hospitals have already started operating upon the patients aftertheirhepatitis screeningto ensure that operation theatre machines are not infected and other patients, who are operated in same instruments, stay safe from the ailment.

`We have supplied kits to the hospitals for free screening of all the patients on operation theatre lists. The hospitalsoperate only upon those patients, who have screening results,` said Dr Kalimullah.

He said that even the hepatitisinfected patients could be operated upon by the doctors in case of severe injuries and trauma because they had to carry out life-saving procedures. However, the screening enabled the surgeons to adopt protective measures and separate machines and instruments for such patients, he said.

The surgeons, who have been calling for compulsory screening of patients prior to operations, say that it is a right measure to safeguard not only other patients but also doctors, paramedics, nurses and other staff from contracting the ailment.

`There are several cases in which our staffers have got infection from a needle prick at the operation theatres. Now, the operation theatre is safe,` said Dr Kallmullah. He said that some of theoperations were postponed for a later date while the serious patients were operated upon on a separate table.

Dr Kalimullah said that the patients, who were tested positive for the disease on rapid methods, were put on treatment at the same hospital in line with PCR report.

`We have got 33 centres inside the hospitals where the hepatitis patients receive free treatment,` he said.

He said that there was also free testing of all patients with dental problems. He added that every patient underwent the rapid screening before any intervention by dental surgeons.

`The main components of the programme are screening, treatment, vaccination and awareness to control the disease. All facilities are free of cost. We are assisting the hospitals to make screening compulsory at their regular programmes.

Currently kits and medicines etc are supplie d to the hospit als,` said Dr Kalimullah.