Health workers should wear surgical gowns of high quality/Courtesy photo
The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has urged importers, retailers and distributors of Medical Gowns and Gloves to ensure that the products they import are up to the set standards for the safety of the public.
During an online stakeholder sensitization meeting held on Tuesday March 9, 2021 to discuss quality standards of medical gowns and gloves, Lydia Nayiga, the Standards Officer at UNBS noted that UNBS developed standards for medical gowns and gloves to ensure that they safe for health workers and patients.
“For example, gloves shouldn’t cause allergies. They should also be water tight; there shouldn’t be any leakages,” Nayiga said, adding that medical gloves should also not be contaminated with properties from the external environment.
She urged importers to seek for the standards from UNBS before importing products to avoid them being seized and destroyed for not meeting the required standards.
“Our standards are demand-driven; they come from stakeholders. We don’t want to compromise people’s lives,” Nayiga said, adding that the standards are affordable and can be easily accessed from the UNBS webstore.
She also revealed that while UNBS develops standards, the testing and inspection of medical gowns and gloves is done by National Drug Authority (NDA).
She noted that standards for surgical gloves were adopted in 2014 while the ones for surgical gowns were developed in 2011. She however said these are updated in accordance with ISO latest standards.
