SEPA team warns LNH to improve medical waste system

However, hospital officials claim the agency was satisfied with their facilities


​ Our Correspondent December 21, 2019
PHOTO: FILE

KARACHI: A team from the Sindh Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has warned two private hospitals in the city to improve their medical waste management efforts immediately.

During visits to Liaquat National Hospital (LNH) and Jinnah Medical College Hospital, Korangi, on Thursday, a four-member team led by SEPA additional director-general Waqar Phulpoto inspected the waste management system and directed hospital authorities to improve their procedure in accordance with environmental laws.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Phulpoto revealed that the SEPA team had asked the LNH management to submit a detailed report about their disposal of medical waste by Monday. “This is one of the biggest health facilities in the city and it lacks a proper waste segregation system,” he pointed out.

Explaining the correct procedures, he said that hospital waste should be completely separated from municipal waste from the very point where it is generated. “Nobody can mix both in a single bin,” he said. “Medical waste is infectious so it must be properly managed.”

Environmental health problems of open waste dumping

The SEPA official said that the careful collection and transportation of the waste is the second step. “LNH needs to improve its storage process,” stated Phulpoto, adding that SEPA had asked them to share records about the disposal of the ash.

An estimated 100 tonnes of medical waste is generated in Karachi by hospitals with 10 or more beds each day. Health officials said that there are over 225 such hospitals in the metropolis. LNH, for instance, generates between 3,200 and 3,400 kilogrammes of medical waste on a daily basis, they told The Express Tribune.

SEPA ‘satisfied’: LNH

Refuting Phulpoto’s statements, sources from LNH said that the SEPA team had inspected the hospital and was satisfied with its waste management plan. “The environmental agency has not issued any warnings to the hospital,” claimed an LNH official. “The team inspected almost all the facilities in the hospital and expressed appreciation for the measures we have taken,” he said. “This was not the first visit; several teams have visited us and no one has ever objected to our system.” 

Published in The Express Tribune, December 21st, 2019.

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