SCANDAL OF BODY PARTS MOUNTAIN
Criminal probe and crisis talks as limbs and chemicals pile up at private site
A CRIMINAL probe is looking into how hundreds of tonnes of NHS waste including body parts and chemicals was left to pile up by a contractor.
A government COBRA meeting was held and the contracting process is to be reviewed amid the revelations about Healthcare Environmental Services Ltd.
Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth said: “This is staggering.”
SEVERED limbs and infectious fluids were among hundreds of tonnes of NHS waste allowed to pile up at a private disposal firm’s sites across the country.
Contractor Healthcare Environmental Services breached limits at five clinical waste processing sites, where human parts and pharmaceutical refuse were sent for disposal, the Environment Agency said.
HES was reportedly trying to export 750 tonnes to Holland, and in September there were 350 tonnes at its site in Normanton, West Yorks, alone – five times its 70-tonne limit.
A small proportion of that was believed to have been body parts.
The issue became so serious that it was the subject of a COBRA meeting chaired by Health Secretary Matt Hancock last month.
The Environment Agency said: “We are taking enforcement action against the operator, which includes clearance of the excess waste, and have launched a criminal investigation. We are supporting the Government and the NHS to ensure there is no disruption to public services and for alternative plans to be put in place for hospitals.”
HES collects some 584 tonnes of “incineration-only” waste and 1,972 of nonhazardous waste per month from trusts.
The industry is worth £70million a year, rival provider SCRL has claimed.
It lost out to HES in the bid for the contract last year, and accused NHS England in the High Court of accepting an unrealistically low offer.
The High Court dismissed SCRL’s case in July, and NHS England was cleared of any wrongdoing. Now the contracting process is to be reviewed by the government, the Environment Agency and NHS. HES said it repeatedly highlighted a “reduced incineration capacity” which had “affected all companies”.The waste is believed to have been stored securely, but not processed in time. The Department of Health said there is no public health risk.
Up to 50 trusts have contracts with the firm. Emergency contingency plans include specialist trailers for hospitals to store waste.
Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth said of yesterday’s revelations in the Health Service Journal: “They are staggering. I’m disappointed the Health Secretary didn’t inform Parliament last month.”
Why did the Health Secretary not inform Parliament last month? JONATHAN ASHWORTH SHADOW HEALTH SECRETARY
IT is an image that could come from medieval times.
Human body parts and dangerous medical waste is rotting in stockpiles long after it should have been incinerated.
This is not only grotesquely insensitive, it poses a potential health risk.
The issue was sufficiently serious for Health Secretary Matt Hancock to convene an emergency meeting. But that was a month ago.
When Parliament returns next week he must explain to MPs why this has happened.
Was this yet another failure by a private contractor or incompetence by ministers or officials? We have a right to some answers.