Angul: Workers engaged in handling medical waste must adopt safety measures by donning proper gear. But this norm is being openly flouted at the Angul district headquarters hospital (DHH) even though the hospital walls have pictures to create awareness as to how the waste should be handled and disposed off.
Strict guidelines must be followed while handling hospital waste. It states the staff must wear gloves, masks, full sleeve shirts, trousers, long boots and plastic aprons. But the ground reality is quite different.
It has been alleged that people employed in removal of bio waste like syringes, saline bottles, pipes, blades, bandages and human remnants after delivery, do so without donning proper gear.
It is a common sight every morning to see the disposal staff carry the waste from the labour room of the hospital to a spot which is approximately 300 metres away. They do so in plastic bags loaded on trolleys. While carrying the waste, quite a few items slip out and fall to the ground. At times these are picked up, but on numerous occasions, it has been observed, that the staff just ignores the waste droppings. This not only creates panic among other attendants, visitors and patients of contracting diseases but also pollutes the surroundings. Patients and their relatives have often complained that since the disposal staff carries the waste without donning proper gear, they also may turn into carriers of infectious diseases.
When contacted, waste management officer Debashis Das asserted that workers engaged in disposing medical waste have been provided with proper gear. “I have no idea why they do not wear those… I will certainly look into the matter,” informed Das. However, he pointed out that waste management is being done properly.
The disposal staff however, shot down his observations. They alleged that they had informed the authorities regarding their requirement of safety gears and dresses, but to no avail.
Additional district medical officer (ADMO) Laxminarayan Bisoi however, admitted that if the allegation regarding the way medical waste is being handled turns out to be true then it is a sensitive matter. “As far as I know the staff has been provided with kit sets. We will investigate why they are not using those. Action will be taken against those found flouting rules,” he stated.
PNN