Georgetown: Chief Executive of Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) Dr. Richard Van West-Charles recently met with medical representatives regarding the wanton disposal of medical waste.
Present were representatives from the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, Woodlands Hospital, Davis Memorial Hospital and Balwant Singh Hospital.
‘This situation is unacceptable,’ stated Dr. Van West-Charles, ‘I am asking that every medical institution review their practices with regard to the disposal of medical waste and that there be some significant changes in adhering to all guidelines that relate to the proper disposal of medical waste’.
Dr. Van West-Charles urged all the representatives present to examine if there are breaches in adhering to guidelines which stipulate how to correctly dispose of medical waste and take corrective action.
The Chief Executive also indicated that he will be engaging the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) on the matter and more discussions will be held to resolve the issue.
“Our sanitation employees are alarmed by the amount of medical waste found in the GWI sewage tanker as well as sewage chambers outside of some hospitals,’ stated Dr. Van West-Charles, ‘the health and safety of our employees cannot be compromised in any way, hence the reason for the meeting with all the hospitals; we must find a swift solution to this problem and protect the health of GWI’s sanitation employees”.
The GWI Chief Executive explained that he recently met with all the employees of the Sanitation Department who described several alarming instances in which medical waste was discovered while cleaning sewage blockages or clearing overflows at various medical institutions within Georgetown. Another instance included a sanitation employee stepping on used needles while attempting to clean the GWI sewerage tanker.
The GWI Chief Executive further stated that he is prepared to take the conversation to a larger public forum in order to garner immediate action. ‘The management of GWI cannot accept that our sanitation workers are coming into contact with used needles on a regular basis,’ stated Dr. Van West-Charles, ‘this issue is of paramount importance since it directly affects the lives of our employees and their families’.
According to GWI, the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the disposal of medical waste following complaints by the company’s sanitation employees about coming into contact with needles, syringes, discarded medical bandages and other forms of medical waste while executing their duties.
You must be logged in to post a comment.