Investigation launched into callous disposal of syringes

Aug 09, 2009 News

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It is unacceptable for any individual or organisation to dispose of syringes in a callous manner, said Health Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy, yesterday when he commented on a photograph featured on the front page of this newspaper’s Saturday Edition.

The revealing photograph was that of a pile of syringes dumped close to the side of the canal along Lamaha Street, not far from Camp Street.

The syringes were still complete with needles and some yet contained a red fluid that appeared to be blood.

An anonymous caller had alerted this newspaper to the deadly pile which has remained at the site of discovery for almost a week.

Although unaware of the origin of the syringes, the Health Minister has, however, ruled out that the syringes could have emanated from the Georgetown Public Hospital which is within close proximity to the area.

He said that the public hospital is mandated to process all of the syringes to be disposed of. No syringe is left attached with needles, he added.

After being thoroughly sterilised, syringes are placed into identifiable red bags or containers that do not have an opening to allow their retrievable, thus ensuring the safety of hospital staffers and the public in general, he explained.

According to the Minister, upon viewing the front page photograph he requested of his officers to commence an investigation into the atrocious act in order to find where the syringes came from and who was responsible for their disposal.

He even lauded the effort of this newspaper to highlight the situation so that action could now be engaged, even as he pointed to the fact that the public is required to be the eyes and ears of the Health Ministry.

“We can’t see everything that is going on. So when persons report things that they know are not right that is helpful to be proactive.”

In response to whether the syringes could have been disposed by a private hospital the Minister said, “We cannot guarantee that it did not come from one because we do not know what they are doing all the time.”

He disclosed that although the Ministry carries out inspections at private hospital, the visits are scheduled so things are always in place.

He said that the Ministry is working on introducing impromptu visits to ensure that all hospitals are adhering to health regulations.

According to Dr Ramsammy, appropriate ways of disposing of biological waste will have to be embraced by all hospitals, ultimately reducing the incidence of such practice.

“They have to build their capacity to deal with waste like that that creates an unhealthy situation.”

It was just two months ago that the Minister has revealed that no license will be issued to any health care facility next year unless they are able to persuade officials of the Ministry of Health that they have mechanisms in place to deal with hazardous waste.

The move, according to him, is in accordance with the Health Facilities Licensing Act.

The Act was brought into existence so as to allow the Ministry of Health to ensure that health facilities operate in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Health Ministry.

According to Minister Ramsammy, the license for a hospital includes the need for occupational health and safety measures.

He had disclosed that health facilities must have a safe way to deal with their waste or risk not being licensed. “Either you develop your own means or you can access ours at a cost but you have no choice. Your license is dependent on it. Unless you are able to persuade us that you can have a safe way to deal with your garbage your license will be withdrawn, it is as simple as that,” the minister had asserted.

He said that for the rest of the year the Ministry will continue its traditional understanding trend but will take on a firm stance in the New Year if persons do not comply with its request.

And the process will not be perfect initially, the Minister emphasised, even as he noted that with time sophisticated systems will be developed to deal with waste.

He however, asserted that adequate provision must be put in place to ensure that things are moving apace.

It is for this very reason, the Minister said that the Environment Health Department of the Ministry of Health is undergoing massive structural changes whereby those sanitary inspection roles are now dealing with Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) within the sector.

And since the OH&S changes go beyond just putting things in place, the Minister highlighted that there is need for health workers to be properly educated.

“I used to be appalled at how we dealt with biological waste. At the Georgetown Public Hospital there was some attempt to sterilise them first before getting rid of them, but generally in Guyana people use to deal with these biological waste such as syringes as domestic waste. And while the public sector was acutely aware and adopted a policy of you didn’t see, you didn’t know, the private sector got rid of their waste with absolute abandonment,” the Minister reflected.

And in order to reverse the unethical practice, the Minister noted that the Ministry is on a mission to ensure that every health facility in Guyana, ranging from a health post to a large hospital, have mechanisms in place to deal with their waste.

“We have developed our own prototype in some cases and we have adopted some prototype for use in our hospital,” the Minister disclosed.

He said that the Ministry has adopted a Hydroclave System which has since been installed to sterilise all waste. The waste materials, the Minister said, are subjected to various other actions such as pulverising before they could be discarded safely. (Sharmain Cornette)

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