LAHORE, March 3: Hospital waste is being unhygienically disposed of even by the public-sector hospitals throughout the province as even basic rules framed by the federal government are being flouted by their managements.

The gravity of the situation may be gauged from the fact that except at the Allied Hospital, Faisalabad, the waste management committees have not been formed by any public health facility in the province, though rules for the purpose had been made two years ago.

This was revealed at a meeting of the public-sector hospitals’ medical superintendents convened by the provincial environment protection department last week, official sources said.

The MS’ of some hospitals told the authorities at the meeting in unequivocal terms that they did not have the capacity to make their own plans for waste collection, storage and transportation to incinerators, sources said.

They quoted Mayo hospital MS Dr Fayyaz Ranjha as saying that they would transport the waste to incinerator (at Children’s hospital) only if the EPD provided them vehicle(s) for the purpose.

The EPD authorities, however, said as many seminars and workshops had been arranged by the department for capacity building of the hospital staffs as regard the clinical waste management so their excuse was not valid.

They were also told that they could have contacted the environment authorities for guidance if they felt any problem in this regard, the officials said.

The participants were asked to form the bodies at the earliest and send data about the waste collection and its disposal and the problems to the EPD.

Under EPA rules, every hospital is responsible for proper management of the waste generated by it till its final disposal.

“The MS of the relevant hospital shall form a 12-member committee, comprising various senior staff of the health facility. The body will meet at least twice a month to review collection and disposal of the waste”.

The rules say yellow-bagged waste shall be disposed of by burning in an incinerator, burial in a landfill or any other method approved by the federal or provincial agency concerned. All dangerous waste delivered to an incinerator shall be burned within 24 hours. Radioactive waste shall either be disposed in the landfill site or incinerated and the hospital staff shall properly be trained for clean up of the contaminated areas. A hospital must be equipped with adequate cleaning equipments, protective clothing and waste bags.

The rules further say sanitary staff and sweepers shall wear protective clothing like face masks, industrial aprons, leg protectors, industrial boots and heavy-duty gloves.