‘Reckless disposal of waste by Khairpur hospitals’

SUKKUR: The Additional Director General Environmental Protection Agency, Sindh, Waqar Hussain Phulpoto, visited the Civil Hospital Khairpur, City Hospital and Lady Wellington Hospital and slapped them with legal notices for violating laws related to safe disposal of hospital waste and sanitary conditions.

Phulpoto was acting on the directives of Barrister Murtaza Wahab, Adviser on Environmental Protection and Coastal Development and Climate Change to conduct inspection of various government and non-government hospitals in Khairpur. He was accompanied by Regional Incharge Sukkur Ajmal Khan Tunio and District Incharge Mir Mureed Ali Talpur. They found that despite having an incinerator in the Civil Hospital, the hospital waste and other discarded chemicals were being incinerated at various open places, which was detrimental to human life.

During the visit to the different wards of the hospital, they observed serious violations of the Hospital Waste Management Rules 2014. Most of the doctors and paramedical staff were unaware of the proper manner to dispose off waste. Another annoying practice which they observed was the use of open cans being used to dump chemical and biological waste far away from the hospitals. In addition, the waste from laboratories and operation theaters was being discharged untreated into the sewerage system, which can lead to spread of diseases.