The Gauteng Department of Health and Social Development would like to assure the public that measures have been put in place to remove the medical waste from Gauteng hospitals.
The company contracted to the department, Buhle waste services is in the process of removing waste today.
There has been a delay in collections as a direct result of challenges with treatment capacity in the country as a whole. Instead of daily collections at our academic hospitals as an example, collections were done 2 to 3 times per week.
The backlog was caused by lack of sufficient approved treatment facilities such as incinerators and alternative technologies throughout the country. Health care waste can only be treated at approved treatment plants with permits from Department of Environmental Affairs.
The Gauteng Health Care Waste Regulations allows us to store general health care risk waste for 90 days under controlled circumstances which we have in our facilities. These 90 days include sharps as well as anatomical waste which is stored in freezers which we have in all our facilities generating pathological waste such as placentas. Unfrozen pathological waste can be stored for 72 hours before collection.
The backlog is expected to be cleared by this weekend.
Enquiries:
Simon Zwane
Cell: 082 551 9892
