A DRAMATIC photograph on the front page of this newspaper last week showed abandoned test tubes from the National Health Laboratory, many still with blood residues, scattered on the premises, a result of dogs rummaging among the plastic bags in which they had been stored.
The reason given for such slovenly and dangerous storage was that the incinerator in which the materials are supposed to be destroyed was out of order and, frustrated by repeated requests for it be fixed, the laboratory staff apparently took the line of least resistance and resorted to plastic bags. When contacted in the matter, Mrs. Grace Allen-Young, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, denied any knowledge of the problem.
When the problem persisted, the National Health Laboratory was instructed to use the Blood Bank incinerator but Dr. Lundie Richards, head of the Blood Bank, has now drawn to public attention that the Blood Bank incinerator itself needs repairs and, in any case, does not have the capacity to cope with both the Blood Bank and National Health Laboratory detritus. According to Dr. Richards, any delay in correcting the incinerator problems could result in the Blood Bank having to "stop functioning completely".
This is simply not good enough. Since the outbreak of AIDS, contaminated blood and how it is disposed of, has become a major health and environmental issue worldwide. Institutions like laboratories and hospitals need to have strict written guidelines promulgated to all staff, compliance with which is checked regularly by government inspectors.
For two incinerators to remain virtually out of service while the Minister of Health waits for a formal report is the height of bureaucratic irresponsibility. Urgent action is necessary and the public needs to be reassured that a health hazard does not already exist, spread by dogs who may have been infected by the blood with which they came in contact while scavenging for food.
The latest on the situation, reported in Tuesday's Gleaner, is that the dog-ravaged blood samples at the laboratory had been cleaned up but that the incinerator at the neighbouring Blood Bank which had been acting as back-up has now fallen into disrepair. The authorities should worry less about who leaked what to the media and see to the urgent repairs that are needed.
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