Biomedical waste in hosps not lifted
Biomedical waste from hospitals is not being lifted by agencies allotted by the Telangana Pollution Control Board (TPCB) leading to hazards as waste is ending up in municipal dumpyards on city outskirts.
Doctors have approached the Indian Medical Association (IMA) state unit in Hyderabad demanding that there must be a solution as handling biomedical waste safely in times of Covid-19 is very important. Small nursing homes and hospitals with less than 50 beds complain that the medical waste from their hospitals is in the backyard for three days before being collected.
Incineration of surgical waste is a major challenge as it generates a foul smell in and around hospital premises.
A senior doctor in small nursing home in Siddipet said, “There are only deliveries and C-sections happening in private hospitals due to Covid-19. This waste needs to be properly handled but that is not happening. Instead, it is being taken to dump yards and burnt.”
The Karimnagar IMA unit has complained to their counterparts in Hyderabad that the agency is demanding the full amount from March onwards for the treatment of biomedical waste. With months of lockdown and no patients, how will hospitals pay?
Doctors from across the state are complaining that `6 and `8 per hospital bed is being demanded for clearance of biomedical waste. When there is no occupancy at all, small nursing homes are finding it very difficult to pay and they have asked the state IMA to intervene and assist them.
In government hospitals and public health centres, biomedical waste is lying around for more than three days before being picked up.
According to sources, there are complaints to district collectors demanding that the clearance must be on a daily basis. Dr Sanjiv Singh, Telangana IMA secretary, explained, “For a small hospital to pay per bed is a challenge. There is no concession from the government. In these times, systems are not functioning properly creating more trouble as it is difficult to have an incinerator or a sewage treatment plant in every small hospital.”
Moreover, TPCB officials state that there is not enough manpower to collect biomedical waste. To add to their woes, constantly fluctuating diesel prices mean that agencies contractors are not sending vehicles every day. The rate at which the incineration is agreed upon with hospitals is based on the number of beds but it is calculated with the contractor by the kilogram. If there is less than one kg waste in a small hospital, the contractor is not interested to burn diesel travelling to that hospital. Many are skipping the schedule to collect waste. This causes problems as there are piles of protection kits, syringes, needles and other waste accumulating.
Doctors and government health officials have brought these problems to the notice of the TPCB in Hyderabad and demanded a solution be worked out so that the waste does not land in municipal grounds and is properly handled.
THE RATE at which the incineration is agreed upon with hospitals is based on the number of beds but it is calculated with the contractor by the kilogram.