NMC issues advisory to medical colleges on mandatory implementation of safe injection practices

New Delhi: To prevent the transmission of blood-borne infections, including HIV, HBV and HCV, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has issued an advisory directing all medical colleges to strictly and mandatorily follow safe injection practices, ensure the use of sterile single-use needles and syringes, and comply with infection prevention and control guidelines.

Referring to recent national and international data and evidence, the Commission noted that unsafe injection practices can lead to outbreaks of HIV and other blood-borne infections such as Hepatitis B (HBV) and Hepatitis C (HCV). It stated that such events are entirely preventable through strict adherence to standard infection prevention and control practices.

Issuing an advisory on May 21, 2026, the Policy and Coordination Division of NMC asked all medical colleges to ensure full compliance to prevent the avoidable transmission of blood-borne infections and adhere strictly to the National Guidelines for Infection Prevention and Control.

For this, the Commission instructed institutions to take measures such as hand hygiene and mandatory safe injection practices using only sterile, single-use needles and syringes, with strict prohibition of reuse under all circumstances.

According to the advisory, all sharps and injection-related waste need to be segregated and disposed of as per the Biomedical Waste Management Rules, 2016.

"The recent data and evidence from international and national settings depict that unsafe injection practices may result in outbreaks of HIV and other blood-borne infections. Such events are entirely preventable through strict adherence to standard infection prevention and control practices. In view of the above, all the Medical Colleges are hereby advised to ensure full compliance to prevent the avoidable transmission of blood-borne infections and adhere strictly to the National Guidelines for Infection Prevention and Control. Measures such as hand hygiene, implementation of mandatory safe injection practices using only sterile, single-use needles and syringes with strict prohibition of reuse under all circumstances, need to be enforced across all facilities. All sharps and injection-related waste need to be segregated and disposed of as per the Biomedical Waste Management Rules, 2016," the advisory issued by NMC secretary Dr Raghav Langer mentioned.

Highlighting the importance of patient safety, the NMC stated that "All Medical Colleges may progressively adopt safety-engineered autodisable syringes. The training to healthcare workers with competency assessments should be provided periodically. Any needle-stick injury/cluster of infections should be reported for investigation. Hospital authorities must ensure post-exposure prophylaxis as per NACO guidelines and conduct regular audits by in-charges and infection control teams."

It further added that strict adherence to safe injection practices is a non-negotiable patient safety mandate. Therefore, it said that any practice that can cause serious breaches of patient safety, such as reuse, vial sharing without precautions, recapping, and improper sharps disposal, must have zero tolerance.

To view the advisory, click on the link below:

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