Unsafe disposal of medical waste at NICVD

Sources claim syringes, human waste, etc, being thrown away with municipal garbage

KARACHI: Medical waste at the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) is being disposed of unsafely in the absence of an incinerator, with most of it being thrown away with municipal garbage, according to sources at the hospital.

Dozens of cardiac surgeries are performed at the NICVD on a daily basis, generating a massive amount of medical waste.

This includes human waste, needles, syringes, blades, blood bags and bodily fluids, which can lead to the transmission of deadly diseases, such as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, hepatitis B and hepatitis C, if not taken care of properly. Disposal with municipal garbage leaves many people at risk of contracting these illnesses, especially the municipal workers responsible for shifting the waste to landfill sites and scavengers.

Sources said that large quantities of hazardous medical waste were often dumped near the parking lot, before being transported to an unknown location on trucks.

According to medical experts, the proper incineration of hospital waste is necessary and every hospital, clinic or maternity home should be equipped with incinerators for this purpose. Most of the hospitals in Karachi, however, lack these plants.

The Sindh health department and Sindh Environmental Protection Agency have failed to put a stop to the practice of dumping medical waste. The practice of reusing syringes in hospitals and clinics is also rampant, despite being a serious threat for patients, attendants, doctors and hospital staff.

A waste management committee was constituted by the provincial health department in 2017 to implement the Sindh Hospital Waste Management Rules of 2014. However, it is non-functional due to unknown reasons.

Azra Maqsood, NICVD's chief operating officer, was not available for comment.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 16^th, 2019.