Aurangabad:MCH and MC at loggerheads over bio medical waste

Aurangabad:A fight is on between the civic authorities and the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH )fraternity over the disposal of bio medical waste of the hospital.While the municipal civic authorities are claiming that the hospital is not separating its bio waste from its solid disposables, the hospital counters it by saying that the solid waste lying in the hospital has not been disposed off by the municipal authorities properly.

The hospital's allegation of solid waste not being cleared brought the municipal team and its Zonal Head, Bhalchandra Paithane, to the hospital premises for an inspection. However, after taking a round they again blamed the hospital for neglecting the waste lying in the hospital premises. Paithane aired the reluctance on the part of the sanitary workers to handle the bio medical waste lying in a mix with the solid waste of the hospital.

He highlighted the fact that there was no separate manner of attending to bio wastes so the workers hesitated to clear it. They feared serious health issues, if they came in contact with the waste.

However, Suhas Jewalikar, MS GMCH defended  the hospital's stand saying wastes were thrown away in a  segregated fashion, but the civic authorities had not been clearing the solid disposables for the past few days.

Jewalikar further clarified that bio medical wastes of the hospital were given away to a private vendor,who disposed them off in a scientific manner. However, he did not rule out the possibility of an occasional throw away of bio medical waste in the open, keeping the 1500 bed strength of the hospital in mind. The medical superintendent clarified that notices to the staff were sent on a regular basis requesting them to take precautions with the disposal of bio medical waste. This he felt should not become an excuse for the civic authorities to start blaming the hospital unreasonably.

Meanwhile, accusations apart, the municipal body is planning to survey all the government hospitals and pathology laboratories of the city to streamline disposal of bio medical wastes.