The Pakistan Environment Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) has said hospitals are inadequately disposing of their hazardous waste and burning them in the open. “Whether it is the Federal Government Tuberculosis Centre at Asghar Mall in Rawalpindi which buries the sputum of patients in the ground, Capital Hospital of the CDA, which releases emissions by burning its waste in an obsolete incinerator or Shifa Hospital at H-8 which buries the incinerated waste in an inadequate pit, all are causing ground and air pollution,” Pak-EPA informed the Environment Commission last week. Dozens of pathological labs, clinics and small hospitals have come up in commercial plazas, from one end of Blue Area to the other. Most of these health facilities have no waste management standard operating procedures (SOPs). The few that do try to manage their waste have poor and insufficient criteria in disposing of dangerous throwaway, added an official of Pak-EPA. Most of these health facilities have no waste management standard operating procedures (SOPs), while the few that do try to manage their waste have a poor and insufficient criterion for disposing of dangerous throw away. According to an official, this hazardous hospital waste included human specimens, contaminated instruments, infectious tissues, chemicals and infectious waste generated by patients.
The major issue is with small private hospitals, pathological labs and clinics, who have no understanding and concept of handling the infectious waste. Private hospitals and clinics have commercial considerations and, therefore, cut on the waste management costs. On the other hand, public hospitals have budgetary constraints. There has always been a great deal of talk regarding cleanliness and hygiene of hospitals, one that is always brushed away or hushed up. If patients are paying hefty amount of money to go to hospitals, especially the private ones, do they not deserve to be treated with the best possible care? The environment body found all hospitals mixing hazardous waste with the municipal waste. More than half of such health facilities with poor hospital waste management SOPs were served with notices. This is a good thing. What should be done is establishing a centralized facility for disposal of infectious waste away from human settlement and shutting down all incinerators within residential areas, besides treatment of infectious liquid waste before discharging it in municipal sewage system. Hospital waste management was a serious issue and all the stakeholders should concentrate to resolve the problem directly affecting the human life and environment health. The government should provide ample funds as well.
pk.shafaqna.com
