Covid makes hospital waste toxic

SOPs set by WHO for coronavirus wards not being implemented

LAHORE:

Theft of waste from government hospitals and its sale to factories has become a more serious issue during the treatment of Covid-19 patients.

It is estimated that a large part of the around 100 tonnes of waste is stolen daily from the hospitals in Punjab. Now the waste from wards where Covid-19 patients are admitted is also being supplied to various factories involved in the trade.

The provincial health and environment protection departments have failed to develop a mechanism to dispose of medical waste during the pandemic.

According sources, standard operating procedures (SOPs) of the World Health Organisation (WHO) were violated during the past eight months in dispose of hospital waste.

The improper disposal of the waste also exposed hospital employees to a higher risk of coronavirus. While the Punjab government is striving hard to curb Covid-19 in the province, the health department appears helpless to stop the theft of hospital waste. Mafias having links in the hospitals are involved in the theft and sale of the hazardous waste, the sources said.

In the past, the local administrations in big cities of the province launched a crackdown against the theft of waste from the hospitals and also took action against the factories that purchased it but the practice has not stopped.

An official of the health department told The Express Tribune that dozens of tonnes of infectious waste produced daily in hospitals in big cities of the province, especially the isolation wards, included that of Covid-19 patients, which was putting the health of citizens at risk.

“We could not install incinerator plants at the government hospitals and are relying on private companies to dispose of the waste,” the official added.

He said staffers at all big hospitals in the province were leaving the waste from coronavirus, cancer and hepatitis wards with that from other departments at one place, from where private contractors carried it away. A large part of the waste is stolen but wherever it goes it poses a health risk.

There is no monitoring in and outside the hospitals of the transportation of the waste, making it easier for the staff and contractors to sell it.

“According to WHO SOPs, during the prevalence of Covid-19, hospital waste should be packed in double bags closed with steel wire. After covering it securely, name of the ward is written on the bag. Then, after disinfectant spray, the bags should be kept in sealed boxes for disposal,” the official said, adding that the measures had not been followed in hospitals in the province.

“There are thousands factories in Lahore and other cities of the province that prepare plastic grain and glass pots, toys and other items that rely on hospital waste. In case of action and arrests, the operatives of the mafia get free after paying fine and resume the business openly in various areas,” said Zahid Khan, owner of a plastic factory in Malik Park area.

Provincial health department spokesperson Stayed Hamad Raza said the department had introduced SOPs for disposal of garbage and advised all hospitals’ administrations in this regard. The department instructed the hospitals to set a mechanism for gathering waste from coronavirus wards. “There is no theft of garbage at hospitals as we ensure implementation of SOPs in this regard and have warned the medical superintendents of hospitals of action in this regard,” he added.

“There are 36 district and 124 tehsil headquarters hospitals in Punjab besides 2,000 small medical centres in the province, including laboratories. There are also around 350 private hospitals that produce an estimated 100 tonnes of waste daily. About 20 per cent of this waste is high risk and infectious as it is produced in coronavirus, cancer, Aids, hepatitis and surgery wards. There is no monitoring system for disposal of the waste and hospitals do not have incinerators,” an official of Punjab Primary and  Secondary Healthcare Department said.

An environmental expert said hospital waste was more dangerous as factories prepared pots after treating it. There should be computerised monitoring of the waste from hospitals till its disposal and the government should install incinerators at hospitals, he added.