18 July 2004	Sunday	29 Jamadi-ul-Awwal 1425

PESHAWAR, July 17: Registrations of private hospitals and clinics are not likely to be renewed if they fail to develop a proper network for safe waste disposal, officials say.

"We had issued notices to the managements of private clinics and hospitals regarding the development of a proper waste disposal system three months ago, but no response is forthcoming," said Dr Mosem Khan, executive district officer (health), Peshawar.

He said that there were a total of 1,572 private health facilities in the city, generating kitchen and infectious waste, bio-waste, pharmaceutical, chemical and radio active waste that needed proper disposal.

An official of the Environmental Protection Agency said that they had asked the EDO (health) to devise a plan for the safe disposal of hospital waste. According to the Rules of Hospital Waste Management of 2000, drawn under the Environmental Protection Act, 1997, call for a hospital waste management system to ensure proper disposal of waste within 24 hours, he said, adding that all hospitals are required to form a waste management team in this regard.

He said that the act also provided for the formation of an advisory committee to be headed by the provincial health secretary to review implementation of rules besides recommending policy measures necessary for the effective management of hospital waste.

No such committee had so far been set up making things more complicated, official said.

"None of the city's major hospitals - Khyber Teaching Hospital, Hayatabad Medical Complex and Lady Reading Hospital - have developed waste disposal system despite repeated notices and reminders," another official said. According to him, private health institutions, including 52 hospitals, had yet to comply with the directives.

The official said that they were constantly in touch with officials from the EDO's office to convince owners of private clinics and hospitals in the Dabgari Gardens area to set up a proper waste disposal system.

"We have asked the private health institutions to transport their wastage to the any of the three teaching hospitals for safe its disposal as incinerators have already been installed there," said the EDO (health). According to him, these clinics' registration would not be renewed if they fail to comply with these directives.

All hospitals and clinics are required to get a certificate from any of the teaching hospitals, verifying that they have been transporting their waste there, he said.

He said that people, including patients and health workers, were at risk of contracting infectious diseases in the absence of proper hospital waste disposal system.

The official said that a Swedish firm had started developing a mechanism for the hospital waste in the city. It had completed assessment work on the hospital waste management in collaboration with the local health and officials of the EPA, but following the installation of the MMA government in the province, officials working for the Swedish firm disappeared.

EDO (health) Dr Mosem Khan said that they could do nothing but deny the renewal of registration to private health facilities. He said the health regulatory authority had been established, which would take care of such matters.