Alarming mismanagement of medical waste

Areport published by this daily on December 22 on the mishandling of medical waste in Rajshahi is symptomatic of the overall reluctance of medical authorities in managing medical waste across the country. Every few days, this daily publishes reports and writes editorials on the mismanagement of medical waste, only to fall on deaf ears, apparently.

According to the report in question, despite having coloured boxes to sort medical waste at the 205 hospitals and medical centres across Rajshahi, the wastes are all dumped in landfills, on roads and roadside bins, all mixed together. And this is dangerous and pose serious health risks, especially because half of the three tonnes of medical waste generated in Rajshahi is infectious. Little children and grownups work in the landfills to sort the waste with their bare hands, often injuring themselves with sharp medical waste objects like syringes, which can increase exponentially the spread of contagious diseases.

According to DGHS any healthcare facility must have an incinerator, autoclave and effluent treatment plants to dispose of hazardous medical waste; of all the 205 healthcare centres in Rajshahi, only Rajshahi Medical College (RMC) has an incinerator, that too almost in tatters. Currently, the Rajshahi City Corporation (RCC) is responsible for their medical waste management, and their work isn't flawless. RCC has initiated a Tk 2 crore project with an NGO to deal with this problem, which is likely to go into production next year. And the NGO will only dispose of the solid waste. So, what happens to the rest? 

Medical waste—general, infectious, hazardous, radioactive—mishandled, can unleash epidemic-scale health crisis. In view of this pervasive problem, the concerned authorities—not just in Rajshahi, but all over the country—should take this matter seriously and correct their course before it is too late.