Private hospitals in Multan don't have sufficient incinerators therefore lack in-house waste disposal facility. There is only one incinerator available at the Nishtar Hospital while there is no incinerator for proper disposal of hospital waste even in Children complex and District Headquarters Hospital (DHH).
The only incinerator in town installed at the Nishtar Hospital is still functioning for disposing of hospital waste cannot help other hospitals, clinics and medical centres destroying their part of the are still throwing waste through conventional means. The liquid waste, including infectious blood and urine, goes into the underground drainage system while the solid waste like used syringes, blood bags are carried away by the municipal committee trucks.
The unavailability of a proper system for disposing of highly infectious hospital waste in the town is posing great threat to people's health.
Local health experts said that in the absence of incinerators, recycling of infectious solid hospital waste could not be ruled out. They said that 10% of hospital waste is highly infectious could harm the residents seriously. Using the conventional means is also dangerous to agriculture and environment.
"We have been with no other option but to dispose of Nishtar Hospital waste in a conventional manner," said an owner of private clinic adding that the an incinerator costs around Rs15 million.
However, there are no arrangements for collecting and burning of waste from other hospitals, including the Children Hospital, District Head Quarter Hospital and Fatima Hospital. Solid waste of the District Headquarters Hospital (DHH) is being treated as municipal waste being thrown conventionally," said the DHH hospital chief. Responding to a query, he said is not unaware if the health department was taking any measures in this regard.
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