Biohazardous materials have been piling up at the San Fernando General Hospital since the incinerator collapsed three weeks ago, and is creating a health hazard. “It is very terrible. It is in a mess. There are maggots and the stench is horrible,” a source told T&T Guardian yesterday. The source complained the situation was posing a risk not only to workers but also to the public.
When T&T Guardian visited the hospital yesterday, several red containers and bags—which employees said contained body parts, syringes and other hazardous materials—were stacked up in a fenced area. The T&T Guardian was told staff were unable to work their regular hours because of the hazardous environment and the unbearable stench. They have been leaving work at 11.30 am.
An employee said only materials such as cotton, disposable diapers and cloth, which are placed in bags, were being disposed of, but the hazardous materials, which are sealed in containers, were not being removed. As a consequence, orderlies from the hospital wards have been left to pick up the slack. The source said: “There is a total contamination, a total health hazard. A place that is supposed to be promoting health not doing that at all. I feel like the hospital is a biohazardous dump. It is in a total mess.
“Even though the incinerator is down they should have a biohazard contingency plan in place. They promised to move out the stuff,but nothing has been done. “Workers are leaving early because of the scent because they are so close to the vicinity. One of the main concerns is that people who are moving the stuff going back on to the wards with the same shoes and clothes.”
Employees have complained to the hospital administrator and the safety department. Contacted yesterday, South West Regional Health Authority chairman Anil Gosine said he was not aware of any pile-up, and far as he knew, the hospital had been using the incinerators of two funeral homes—Belgrove’s and Guides—to dispose of the materials.
Gosine said the hospital administrator was working with the employees and a system had been set up so that workers would come in and leave earlier to facilitate the removal of materials. He said the incinerator would be functional in a week’s time. Work on a new incinerator, next to the old one, began in March and should be completed by year-end at a cost $9 million.
Keith Belgrove could not be reached for a comment yesterday. Health Minister Fuad Khan did not answer his cellphone or respond to an e-mail.