The Public Hospital Authority (PHA) has admitted that the biohazardous waste found at the New Providence Landfill, did in fact come from the Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH).
In a press statement sent recently, the authority said the biohazardous waste was found in November 2015.
“Additionally, the investigators discovered that documents specific to the Princess Margaret Hospital was found among the disposed refuse. As a direct result of this infraction, the Princess Margaret Hospital along with Bahamas Waste assisted with remediation efforts by providing disinfectant chemicals, pressurized chemical dispersion canisters, personal protective equipment and technical advice regarding exposure management and decontamination of waste,” officials said.
The PHA said as a result of PMH’s err, $10,000 was extended to Renew to cover costs associated with all remedial efforts to move and clean up the cited area.
“A site visit to the landfill was scheduled to be led by the Chief Executive Officer of Renew Bahamas in order to confirm whether or not any of the waste reportedly dumped at the site did in fact originate at the Princess Margaret Hospital. Regrettably, on the day of the site did in fact originate at the Princess Margaret Hospital,” officials said.
Officials said during that visit, there was no evidence of waste in the designated area.
But officials did find more evidence of wrongdoing by PMH.
The authority said that PMH does not directly dump biohazardous waste at the landfill and is sent to a centralized area. However, officials said that the holding station at PMH was illegally used by entities to dispose of medical and biohazardous waste.
“In this regard, the authority intends to pursue the full extent of the law against any entity found disposing waste at its PMH campus. Additionally, enhanced security measures inclusive of CCTV are being implemented. The Princess Margaret Hospital has also engaged a safety manager who now has direct oversight for the monitoring of waste in general, but biohazardous waste in particular,” officials said.
“The authority has also notified the Ministry of Health of our concerns with regards to the illegal dumping of biohazard waste at the PMH campus, and has urged that priority be given in collaborating with other government entities incarrying out a more extensive investigation into this illegal practice.
“The indiscriminate disposal of any record related to the provision of care at any facility in the PHA network is a very serious concern for the authority, and the PHA assures that hen there is evidence to support that staff have engaged in this practice the authority will not hesitate to enact the prescribed disciplinary action within the framework of PHA policies.”
