Majority hospitals both private and government in Hyderabad are found violating the bio-medical waste dumping norms in the city. As the Telangana State Pollution Control Board (TSPCB) is still held up with the bifurcation process and yet to settle down soon, the hospitals are taking advantage and resorting to illegal dumping in the city.
According to an estimate, the biomedical waste generated from all the hospitals in and around Hyderabad accounts to about 7 tonnes every day. There are about 800 odd big and small hospitals that perform various medical and surgical procedures and generate a lot of medical and biological waste.
Unfortunately the state bifurcation process has stalled all the activities of PCB. During the past almost one year, there are no concrete vigilance activities happening from the pollution control board. Taking this as an advantage, not just small medical establishments, even the leading government hospitals like Niloufer, Gandhi, Osmanai and maternity hospitals are disposing their bio-medical waste openly into the bins.
Because of the illegal dumplings, the normal bins are emanating rotten smell. Even the canteen that prepares food for patients and doctors are not spared. The hospitals itself are becoming the breeding ground for diseases. “It is high time that the PCB inspectors do regular inspections of these government hospitals. Otherwise improper dumping of this hazardous waste from the hospitals can lead to many other diseases,” said a patient attendant at Niloufer Hospital.
The biomedical waste constitutes everything from body parts to blood-soaked bandages, used bottles; syringes, used gloves and other polythene and rubber products used during surgeries and medical treatments. Dumping this waste in the open drainage and dustbins is an offence and if found violating the norms the PCB can initiate action and penalise the violators according to the law.
According to sources at the TSPCB, the officials had conducted an inspection drive 3-4 months ago, wherein they have also conducted inspections of all the major government hospitals in Hyderabad, but till now they have not updated the report to the PCB. Moreover, the PCB is also not having proper information as to how many small and big hospitals are there in the city. Because of all these lacunas, the PCB is not able to devise a strategic plan to have a regular inspection drive against the hospitals.
According to bio-medical waste handling norms, all hospitals need to segregate the medical waste and collect it in different colored bags. They should also employ properly trained people to handle the biomedical waste disposal. The human anatomical waste such as body parts that are removed during surgery and bandages should be placed in yellow bags and should be incinerated at 1100 degrees Celsius. Plastics and rubber disposables like gloves, bottles, syringes, tubes and urine bags need to be collected in red bags. This waste is sterilised and shredded. Sharp instruments should be collected in jars and must be incinerated.