LRH handling over 800kg of infectious waste daily

Spokesman says hospital disposing of waste scientifically

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhawa’s leading health facility Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar produces approximately 800 kg of infectious waste including that which is collected from operation theatres and different wards each day, while the LRH has a fully-fledged waste management department working under the facility manager disposing the waste scientifically .

This statement was issued from the office of the spokesperson of the hospital Muhamad Asim on Friday, to dispel and refute propaganda being circulated on social media about the hospital waste management.

While speaking to the media Asim pointed out that there were 370 full time housekeeping staff hired merely to collect the waste produced on regular basis while hospital waste is being collected from all 84 wards, hostels and general areas of the hospital to keep the environment neat and clean.

The housekeeping staff of the LRH has been trained to collect and dispose of hospital waste in designated spots safely.

The house keeping staff have also been imparted training as to how to keep  themselves safe from infectious disease during waste collection and transportation.

The municipal waste is handed over to cantonment board as per a MoU signed with them and the infectious waste is incinerated according to the standard, he said.

LRH Director Dr Khalid Masud said that  LRH has installed a state-of the-art and the largest incinerator of K-P which has the capacity to incinerate the infectious waste not only of LRH but the facility will be offered to other hospitals to incinerate their waste as well.

He said that waste collection process is strictly monitored and we have zero tolerance policy as far as cleanliness of the hospital is concerned. Dr. Khalid further said that huge number of patient’s relatives and attendants come to LRH on daily basis and they often throw eatables, plastic bags and plastic bottles in hospital which is not an ideal situation. He added that there are dust bins fixed in all parts of the hospitals but most of the attendants still do not use it.

He further added that it is the responsibility of the attendants also to keep LRH neat clean by cooperating with hospital administration.

Dr Masud said that we are trying hard to provide healthy environment to our patients and we are working for it round the clock.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 29^th, 2019.