Kozhikode MCH refutes reports of biomedical waste piling up on hospital premises

Garbage bags being loaded into a vehicle to be moved out of the Government Medical College Hospital, Kozhikode, on Friday.
| Photo Credit: K. Ragesh

Superintendent of Government Medical College Hospital (MCH), Kozhikode, M.P. Sreejayan has brushed aside reports that biomedical waste was being piled up on the medical college premises owing to lack of funds. He said that biomedical waste from the hospital was being removed on a regular basis by ‘Image’, an initiative of the Indian Medical Association and that the hospital was spending a large amount for the service.

“We have around 5,000 to 6,000 patients daily, so the waste produced will be proportional to that. We need to store it somewhere before it is moved. It does not mean waste is being piled up,” Dr. Sreejayan expressed angst over reports that appeared in a few local dailies. 

The organic waste from the medical college is treated at a plant, while the plastic waste is managed by the Clean Kerala Company. “What you see in the dumping yard is the normal amount of waste produced in a day,” he added.

The media reports that appeared on October 4 (Friday) claimed that biomedical waste, such as used syringes, needles, and medicine bottles, at the medical college has not been removed for three months due to the unavailability of tamper-proof containers for transporting the needles.