BHUBANESWAR: With the State extending the biomedical waste management programme to all Government-run hospitals, the health facilities have been asked to obtain authorisation from the Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) for disposal of waste in an organised way.
While earlier the waste management facility was available in three medical college and hospitals, Shishu Bhavan, Capital Hospital, Rourkela Government Hospital (RGH) and all district headquarters hospitals (DHHs), now it is provided to all 27 sub-divisional hospitals, 79 area hospitals and 377 CHCs besides 1,226 PHCs.
A health official said the personnel engaged in waste management will be trained properly and there will be a review of their works on a regular basis. “The authorities have been directed to timely supply of required equipment for waste management,” he added.
A couple of years ago, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India had slammed the Odisha Government for failing to manage the biomedical waste generated from the hospitals across the State.
The CAG in its report had highlighted that the hospitals and other healthcare institutions generating biomedical waste were functioning without obtaining authorization from State Pollution Control Board.
Healthcare establishments of the Government violated the rules regarding segregation, mixing, collection and treatment. Availability of waste disposal equipment and infrastructure and facilities were poor in the State, the report stated.
Meanwhile, the OSPCB has sought two acres of land at a strategic location in Sambalpur district for developing common biomedical waste management facility. The facility will be developed to facilitate treatment and disposal of biomedical waste generated from the hospitals of Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, Balangir, Bargarh and Sonepur districts.
Sambalpur has been considered as a model district for the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation’s Global Environment Facility project for management of biomedical waste in an environment-friendly manner in the Western Odisha region.