The New Nation - Internet Edition

INDISCRIMINATE dumping of clinical wastes pose a serious threat to public health. Health experts fear outbreak of contagious diseases at any time because of careless handling of tonnes of clinical wastes by hospitals, clinics, diagnostic centres and pathological laboratories. The issue merits urgent attention of the concerned authorities.

According to the Private Clinic and Laboratory Act 1982, all health service providers are supposed to be registered with the Ministry of Health. It is estimated that there are more than one thousand hospitals and clinics of public and private origin in Dhaka City and about 400 in the port city of Chittagong. But only 10 percent of them are reported to have approval for operating upon patients. A private organisation engaged in hospital waste management estimates that the hospitals and clinics in Dhaka generate not less than 10 tonnes of wastes a day. It is more than two tonnes in Chittagong. No secure method of disposal of the harmful substances is followed in the hospitals. The wastes are carelessly thrown into roadside bins.

The unincinerated pathological wastes like discarded blood, bandages, body fluid, amputed limbs, chemical and pathological reagents are dangerous sources of bacterial and viral infections. Syringe and hypodermic needles, broken ampules and sharp surgical equipment may cause serious injuries to the cleaners. The hospitals and clinics appear to be callous while dumping wastes. One private organisation in Dhaka is known to be managing clinical wastes commercially. But its facilities are quite insignificant to what are needed. Adequate arrangements for incineration of hospital wastes must be made a precondition for registration of hospitals and clinics.