Hospital Waste Management: Punjab Health Department prepares comprehensive policy

The Punjab Health Department has prepared a comprehensive policy for the "Hospital Waste Management" and committees for this purpose have been notified at the divisional, district and hospital level. The hospital's pilot project has completed in the Tehsil Headquarter Hospital in the Burewala district, Layyah, and THQ Hospital Wazirabad, district Gujranwala and the plan is being scaled up to 15 districts in the second phase.
Advisor to Chief Minister on Health Khawaja Salman Rafique said this while addressing a seminar on jointly organized by the Health Department, Policy and Strategic Planning Unit and World Bank in a hotel on Wednesday. Besides, Secretary Health Jawwad Rafique Malik, Director General Health Dr Zahid Pervaiz, representative of World Bank Dr Javed, In-Charge Chief Minister Health Roadmap Programme Aizaz Akhtar, Director PSPU Ali Bahadur Qazi, DG Environment Javed Iqbal, EDOs and Medical Superintendents of the hospitals of selected districts attended the seminar.
Representative of World Bank Dr Javed said that environmental pollution and polluted water is the basic cause of diseases and an ailing bread-earning person cannot run the family's expenditures which is an economic loss. He said the hospital waste is also a hazard for environmental health. He said the hospital waste also creates hurdles in economic activities.
The Medical Superintendents of THQ hospitals Wazirabad and Burewala shared their experiences of Hospital Waste Management Pilot Programme in their hospitals. Secretary Health Jawwad Rafique Malik stressed the need of training and capacity building of the staff. He directed that Information Technology should be adopted in data collection of hospital waste and manual entries in the registers should be converted into computerized database.
He directed that software with the help of PITB also be prepared for digitalization of hospital waste management's data. He observed that strict monitoring is essential to check the pilferage and theft of hospital waste. The health secretary said proper training should be imparted to the staff for segregation of hospital waste so that it could be properly identified as municipal waste, infectious waste and hazardous hospital waste. He disclosed that health department is going to start work on a huge project with the collaboration of the Lahore Waste Management Company.
He also said incinerators of average 80-kilogramme per day burning capacity have been provided to 24 districts including Lahore, Multan and Rawalpindi. He directed that a survey should be conducted in all the districts to collect the accurate data of hospital waste generated by public as well as private hospitals in the province.
He said that hospital waste management is a very serious issue and all the stake holders should concentrate to resolve this problem which is directly affecting the human life and environment health. He said the government would provide maximum funds as and when required. He said that there is a need to discharge duties with honesty and professional dedication.
He said that monitoring of hospital waste management is also a component of Chief Minister Health Roadmap Programme and Special Monitoring Unit has started monitoring through MEAs. He said the Punjab Healthcare Commission has also included implementation of Hospital Waste Management rules to maintain minimum service delivery standards. He urged upon the Health Managers, Medical Superintendents, EDOs Health to ensure implementation on the SOPs of Hospital Waste Management to protect environmental and medical health.