hospital waste sellers would be dealt with iron hands:Kh Salman

Lahore:Special Assistant to Chief Minister Punjab on Health, Khawaja Salman Rafique has directed to evolve comprehensive system to dispose of hospital waste and strict action would be taken against those involved in selling hospital waste illegally.

He was presiding over a high level meeting with regard to Hospital Waste Management at Civil Secretariat, here today. Secretary Environment Saeed Wahla, Special Secretary Health Dawood Breech, Director General Health Punjab Dr. Nisar Cheema, DIPH Prof. Muaz Ahmed, Additional Secretary Health Technical Dr. Anwar Janjua and other officers were also present in the meeting. A Technical Committee was constituted at district level during the meeting for evolving effective system for hospital waste management of hospitals which will submit its recommendations under Environment Protection Act. Director General Health Punjab will be the convener of the committee while one representative each from DIPH, solid waste management, environment department, World Health Organization and UNICEF will be the members of the technical committee.

The meeting was informed that incinerators have been installed in the hospitals of 19 districts of the province for disposing of the hospital waste, however, a few out of them are not functional due to technical reasons. While directing to make functional the non-functional incinerators, Khawaja Salman Rafique said that incinerators should also be provided in the DHQ Hospitals of the remaining 17 districts. The meeting also reviewed the proposals to form clusters of the incinerators to remove toxic of hospitals. The meeting decided to make compulsory for private hospitals to arrange disposing off their waste under healthcare commission and environmental pollution act.