KARACHI, Jan 27: Inspection of all public and private health care facilities will be carried out and strict action will be taken against anyone found lacking proper arrangement for safe disposal of hazardous medical waste.

This was stated by provincial (caretaker) Minister for Health Fauzia A. Lari while chairing a meeting of her department here on Saturday.

The meeting was told that despite widespread complaints from medical professionals and general public, safe disposal of hospital waste in conformity of the international standards by most of the government and private hospitals and other such facilities could not be ensured. Health officials attributed that department’s failure to make the managements of hospitals, clinics, diagnostic laboratories and radiology units to the absence of a relevant law envisaging action against the defiant or negligent managements.

They recalled that a draft ordinance in this regard was pending approval for more than nine months. Had the government implemented the ordinance, it could have been possible for the health department to make the managements of all public and private hospitals responsible for the safe disposal of their respective hazardous waste, they maintained, adding that it would also have enabled the department to take legal actions against those found violating the ordinance.

The minister said she would move the authorities concerned for the introduction of a set of laws already vetted by the provincial law department in this regard.

Ms Lari directed managements of all private and government hospitals to take concrete measures towards safe disposal of medical waste, and said inspection of the health care facilities would be started soon.

She said no dereliction in this regard would be tolerated as unsafe disposal of dangerous hospital waste put public health at high risks, besides causing environmental pollution.

Under the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act, 1997, hospital waste falls in the category of “hazardous waste” and the institutions responsible for unsafe or improper handling/disposal of their waste are liable to be prosecuted.