VietNamNet Bridge - An inter-sector inspection group led by a Deputy Minister of Health inspected the management and treatment of waste at hospitals in Hanoi.

Medical waste sale scandal to be investigated

The inspection group gathers representatives of the Health Ministry, the Environmental Police Agency, and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

Inspectors came to Bach Mai Hospital, which sold dozens of tonnes of medical waste to private companies to manufacture household plastic products.

This hospital not only sold untreated medical waste but also equipped a pressing machine to grind medical waste to sell at higher price. For example, medical waste that is not ground is priced at VND6,000 per kilo and the ground waste is sold for VND10,000 per kilo.

According to Dr. Ngo Quy Chau, Deputy Director of the Bach Mai Hospital, the hospital classified medical waste at the source of discharging and part of medical waste was transferred to the Medical - Industrial Waste Treatment Enterprise to burn, totaling around 10 tonnes per month (around 300kg/day). The cost for this task is more than VND1.7 billion each year.

To cut cost for waste burning and earn some money, the hospital assigned its Anti-bacterial Contamination Ward to decontaminate some kinds of medical waste that have blood to sell.

Acting Director of Bach Mai Hospital Tran Thuy Hanh proposed the Health Ministry to allow the sale of some kinds of medical waste for recycling and issue rules on dealing with waste.

On the same day, inspectors visited the Central Turmour Hospital (K Hospital). This hospital’s Director Nguyen Ba Duc said that the hospital classifies its waste at each ward before transferring it to a waste treatment zone. The hospital also signed a contract with the Hanoi Urban Environment Company to collect and burn medical waste, which is around 1.6 tonnes of toxic waste per month.

However, inspectors found out that some kinds of medical waste were put into normal waste, not being classified as the Director said.

The hospital said that glass bottles containing addictive substances are broken after use but it could not show inspectors where this task is performed and where the broken bottles are.

At the waste treatment zone of K Hospital, inspectors could not know which tanks are for medical or normal waste because all of them are green.

Under regulations, medical waste must be burned within 24 days but at K hospital, medical waste is collected and burnt on even dates.

Le Ha