Solid waste in hospital- a threat to human life

Tag : medical material.

By: SALMAN RAZA
ISLAMABAD, Jun 29 (APP): Solid medical waste is a major source ofinfectious diseases and it requires immediate management by thehospitals to install incinerator to make the environment safe andsound and ensure protection against diseases.
Around 250,000 tonnes of medical waste is annually produced fromall sorts of health care facilities in the country. This type ofwaste badly affects the environment as it contaminates the land,air and water resources.
“When waste containing plastics are burnt, Dioxin isproduced, which can cause cancer, birth defects, decreasedpsychomotor ability, hearing defects, cognitive defects andbehavioral alternations in infants”, said a health expert.
Besides it releases pollutants, gases, ashes, chemicals and otherresidue, he added.
Hospital waste is produced at hospitals or medical clinics, such as“Red bag waste” could be hazardous and infectious.
The major medical waste could be surgical waste, injection needles,rubber gloves and tubing, tissues and bandage, drop-bags, medicalremains, scalpels, infectious and pathological waste from thepatients, blood plasma remains, cloth,etc.
Similarly laboratory waste are medicine that has been left overglass pipette, plastic samples, steel tools, etc. X-ray waste:
X-ray pictures, clothes, tissues, etc. “Yellow bagwaste” - normal hospital waste while Kitchen waste includedfood remains, cardboard, paper, wood, glass, small steel parts,etc.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has put medical waste indifferent categories and these include infectious, pharmaceuticaland radioactive.
There are guidelines for hospital waste management in Pakistansince 1998 prepared by the Environmental Health Unit, of theMinistry of Health giving detailed information and covering allaspects of safe hospital waste management.
A project was implemented in January, 2000 in the biggest hospitalin every province by the Ministry of Health in Islamabad, incollaboration with the WHO. However, the waste produced by themedical care centers if disposed of improperly, may pose an evengreater threat than the diseases themselves.
“Pakistan is lso facing such problems. It does not havesystematic approaches to medical waste. Hospital wastes are simplymixed with the municipal waste in collecting bins at roadside anddisposed off.
Some waste is buried without any appropriate measure” said asenior Pathologist Dr. Sajjad Raza Malik while discussing about theintensity of the waste material.
He said disposable syringes and needles are also neither disposedof properly and nor some patients, who routinely use syringes athome know how to dispose them of properly.
It is learnt that reuse of disposable syringes has become a commonpractice at places close to the hospitals. Some people have beenfound in picking up used syringes from the hospital waste and thensell them. Many drug addicts also reuse the syringes that can causeAIDS and other dangerous and contagious diseases.
However, third word countries are still far from acquiring theincineration technology due to limited resources and lack ofawareness to sustain the basic necessity of every health care unit.
Similar situation exists in country’s two major hospitals inthe federal capital Pakistan Medical Institute of Medical Sciences(PIMS) and Federal Government Services Hospital.
In Federal Government Services Hospital, one incinerator is workingwhich is insufficient to meet the requirements of wastage materialsof the hospital.
Dr. Sharif Istori, Assistant Director of the hospital appealed tothe government for provision of at least one more incinerator tofulfil the requirements of hospital for properly treating thedisposable materials.
Dr Sharif said an order has been placed for the latest incineratorto reduce the risk of side effects of the burning materials to itsoperator and save the environment at large.
It is a wrongly believed that things simply disappear when they areburnt. However, the Law of Conservation of Energy states “Energy cannot be created or destroyed, but can change its form. The total quantity of matter and energy in the universe is a fixedamount and never any more or less”.
Following the law it is worth mentioning that even burning of wastematerial through the incinerator is not completely safe.
It is harmful to the person who operates incinerator because it maycause skin disease and breath infection.
Assistant Director said that Health Ministry plans to install amodern incinerator at PIMS where all wastage materials of thefederal capital would be taken for destroying it.
In the developed countries the latest technology of incineratorworks as such that it restricts emitting smoke reduces possibilityof skin or other related diseases. Dr Sharif said the governmentshould provide this latest hi-tech incinerator to the federalservices hospital.
It is strange but true that wastage material of different hospitalsof the Federal Capital is being shifted in packs to Rawalpindi atponds,lakes, filthy areas and even at the both sides of the roads.
Resultantly many drug addicts find syringes to inject themselveswith drugs which cause AIDS, hepatitis and other chronic diseases.The waste is also carried by stray dogs and cats to residential tospread at residential posh areas and thus can harm many people byand large.
Dr. Sharif Astori said that wastage material was in the past wasdestroyed by CDA, but now it has stopped doing so.
Dr Amjad of PIMS said they have three incinerators but they are allout of order and they get use their wastage material through theincinerator of Holy Family hospital of Rawalpindi.
He, however hopes to get new high-tech incinerator in the hospitaland for which all legal procedure has been completed. He said theyare just waiting for the No Objection Certificate (NOC) from theMinistry of Environment.
There is dire need for the government and health department to stepup efforts to provide incinerator to all government hospitals andprivate hospitals.
Perhaps the enforcement of legislation is pre-requisite forinstallation of incinerator in all hospitals. But when and how itwill be done, a million dollar question for the authorities whoalready have many problems and issues to deal with.