Emergency room: Waste management a big issue in Mumbai’s govt hospitals
Source: Indian Express, Date: , 2016
At KEM Hospital, where any day patient load crosses a thousand, it is a common scenario to watch a doctor hurry to the patient’s cot, give instructions to nurse who then gives an injection to the patient, dabs it with cotton and bandage and asks the sweeper to clean the litter. In a second’s mistake, the cotton waste — supposed to be thrown in a red bag — and the needle — supposed to end up in a white bag — may end up getting mixed, thus changing its waste-management treatment. In an effort to ensure correct practices when it comes to hospital waste management, the ministry of environment has issued a new set of Biomedical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules in March. “Even then, awareness in corporation hospitals is less. In Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), the staff strength is very low.