Business Over Life: Alleged Reuse of Medical Waste From PIMS

Zafar Malik
Islamabad: The medical waste from the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) which should be destroyed for the consideration of public health and environmental safety is allegedly being sold and transported to the junkyards in the Mehrabadi area of Islamabad where it is cleansed and resold to the medical facilities,The PenPk.com has learned.
According to the videos available to this correspondent, a raiding individual is unpacking sacks filled with discarded syringes, tubes, needles, nipples, handles and other medical equipment at a private junkyard in the said locality.
The medical equipment were sold to small business outlets in the Mehrabadi and Tarnol areas of Islamabad, where after cleaning were sold to hospitals for treatment purposes.This is not the first time that this serious anomaly has come to light. The residents of Islamabad have made several complaints to the PIMS administration and other concerned authorities, including the district health authority, against this risky business being carried out at PIMS, but neither the hospital management nor other relevant authorities have taken action against such life-risking practices.
It is reported that the contract for the medical waste was given to Chaudhry Waris, Shahid Jan Khattak and Anwar Masi. They were being paid Rs.1.5 million per month for their work. The contractors allegedly sell the infectious waste to other small contractors in their circle who, after cleaning the products, resell them to different healthcare facilities in the city.

A document available with this correspondent states, “A Suzuki van bearing number RIS-15 has been found today (27 February), transporting the medical and surgical infectious waste material, including incinerated items, of PIMS unauthorisedly to some unknown depot at G-11 for recycling, which is very dangerous for health.”
Another document written by a PIMS administrator addressing the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Islamabad, states that “such type of waste causes the spread of various diseases, i.e., HIV/AID, Hepatitis B and C, cancer, etc. Infectious waste material, including that of sanitary workers (i.e., Anwar Masih) and on-duty drivers, is available in PIMS; it is therefore requested to lodge an FIR against the incident.”
Sources at the PIMS, requesting anonymity, have said that instead of destroying the infectious waste, the contractors were allegedly selling it to private junkyards, where it is cleaned and sold to hospitals again. This waste is not only hazardous to the environment but also poses risk of spreading HIV/AID, hepatitis and other infectious diseases.
The sources said that blood test vials have also been reused in the hospital after being cleaned in a private junkyard. The sources at the hospital said that due to the use of discarded medical equipment, diseases are not properly diagnosed. The source alleged that all was being done with the alleged connivance of PIMS staff. In this way, deadly diseases are being distributed throughout the city.
The above-mentioned document states that the plastic material was loaded on a Capital Development Authority (CDA) owned tractor trolley last Saturday and instead of being destroyed, it was sold somewhere in Islamabad’s Tarnol area.
The matter was taken up with the high-ups and after an initial inquiry, it was revealed that Chaudhry Waris and two other contractors were involved in this illegal business.
A former PIMS staff on condition of anonymity, intimated that disposing of medical waste is a sensitive matter and demands a highly sensitive disposal approach, but unfortunately here contracts for destroying such medical waste are given to the individuals who do not understand the seriousness of the task and are only interested in making money.

The former staff said the contract for the medical waste disposed of is given to the corrupt people and everyone from bottom to top takes their share from it.
Responding to the inquiry criteria that was followed by the PIMS management in the past, the anonymous staff said there was no merit in this, it was just a formality, expressing reservation about any future outcome.
While expressing reservations over the early inquiries’ track record, he hoped that CDA Chairman Capt (retd) Noorul Amin Mengal would himself supervise this inquiry and hold the culprits accountable. However, he added, accountability should be from top to bottom rather than holding lower staff responsible as in the past.
Meanwhile, Dr Fazal Rabbi, infectious diseases specialist Premium Diagnostics Islamabad, said every hospital has a separate infection prevention department because proper disposal of the medical waste is critical to preventing spread of infectious diseases like HIV/AIDs, hepatitis B&C and other diseases.
In Pakistan, disposal of the medical waste should be taken more seriously because we are already bearing a huge burden of infectious diseases like hepatitis B & C, Dr Rabbi added.
Talking about implications of using medical waste in patients’ treatment, Dr Rabbi said “Once medical equipment like syringe is used, it gets expired and reusing an expired product means spreading hundreds of infections to human lives.”
The infectious diseases expert said the reuse of infectious medical waste means the spread of hundreds of kinds of infections in patients who visit hospitals for treatment.
Meanwhile, the residents of Islamabad have appealed to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and other law enforcement departments to take notice of this anti-human business and put the culprits involved behind bars.
District Health Office Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Zaeem Zia when contacted said the matter is not in his knowledge and if any such corrupt practice had committed the department will definitely bring the matter into the knowledge of the District Health Regularity Authority (DHRA), Islamabad for action.
However, DHO Zia said there is no point to transport the medial waste outside the hospital as the hospital has its internal disposed of facility at its premises.

This is a developing story.