A photo provided by Tiong shows what is believed to be uncollected clinical waste in the compound of Bintulu Hospital.
KUCHING (April 20): Bintulu MP Dato Seri Tiong King Sing has taken a Bintulu Hospital contractor to task for allegedly failing to carry out its responsibilities to manage and process the health facility’s medical waste.
He said in a statement that the contractor had not only neglected its duties but also put public health at risk, pointing out that checks had revealed that clinical waste had piled up to unacceptable levels in Bintulu Hospital including in the parking areas and morgues.
“The staggering sight of these waste piling up has attracted a lot of complaints and the public demands an explanation from the company,” said Tiong.
He said he had instructed the contractor to immediately discuss a solution with the Health Department to quickly dispose of the stagnant waste and clarify each party’s scope of responsibilities.
“This is important in the larger sanitation issues related to quarantine and Low Risk Treatment Centre (PKRC) facilities. Avoiding this issue would only create public dissatisfaction and put patients and staff at risk during this critical period,” he said.
He emphasised that the company, which is one of seven companies that had obtained permits from the Department of Environment, must strictly comply with the treatment requirements for medical and clinical waste including following stringent protocols in the processing, collection, transportation, and disposal by incineration.
“Neither the company nor the department should treat these waste products as a trifle matter, due to their previous use on Covid-19-positive patients, which could infect other people if not handled with the utmost care.
“It is very disappointing to know that despite many meetings, these gaps in the treatment and quarantine of infected patients are still being uncovered. It is extremely unacceptable at this point of the campaign against the coronavirus that medical wastes are still not taken seriously and left to pile up and forgotten,” said Tiong.
He said that if the contractor continues to fail to carry out its responsibilities, the authorities should terminate its contract.
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