NHS waste row firm warned a year ago
Scotland’s environmental regulator issued a warning almost a year ago to a company now at the centre of a medical waste investigation over hospital refuse being stored for long periods, documents reveal. A report unearthed by The Sunday Post shows how the Scottish Environment Protection Agency identified storage issues at Healthcare Environmental Services’ plant in Shotts during an inspection last December. Sepa’s discussion with managing director Garry Pettigrew during the December 2017 inspection operation was “primarily” to discuss incineration capacity at Shotts. Sepa inspectors said officials who carried out the inspection, which was announced, found “a lot of waste being stored on site,” adding: “Storage arrangements were generally found to be acceptable.” But it continued: “Given the build-up waste, it is evident that some bins have been on site for some time (approximately two months was suggested during the inspection) including hazardous clinical waste.” Despite its reservations, Sepa said there were no breaches during the visit. HES said: “This interim assessment gave us an ‘excellent’ rating. Storage was within limits and the plant was in full compliance.”