Islamabad: The Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) hospital administration has made the incinerator fully functional for disposal of medical waste, ARY News reported on Monday.

Earlier in May, it was revealed that the hospital has two incinerators for disposal of medical waste, but one of the two incinerators was defunct for four months.

A PIMS spokesperson said a waste management committee would oversee the separate disposal of infectious and non-infectious medical waste. It said that 21,985 kg of medical waste was disposed of last month.

Read: Director of PIMS Hospital served notice on improper disposal of medical waste

In May, an investigation was launched into the improper disposal of medical waste at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) hospital and a show-cause notice was issued to the hospital’s Director Non-Medical Chaudhry Waris Raza.

As per the SOP, the medical waste of PIMS hospital should be disposed off separately, but three types of hospital waste were being dumped together. It further stated that the hospital has two incinerators for disposal of medical waste but one of the two incinerators was defunct for four months.

It emerged that the PIMS waste management in-charge misled the management about defective incinerators and payment made to the contractor for defective incinerators, besides failing to provide written records of medical waste disposal and attendance data of the concerned staff.

Read: Health Ministry terminates service agreement of 11 officers of PIMS Hospital

The notice states that medical waste was disposed of in the absence of experienced staff of the waste management department. Significantly, the responsibility of medical waste disposal in PIMS Hospital is that of a private company.

The notice states that the private company did not put in place a comprehensive mechanism for medical waste disposal and its employees gave an unsatisfactory reply to the show cause notice.

It said that due to the negligence of the staff of the private company responsible for implementing the SOP, drops of blood were found at different places at the medical waste disposal site at PIMS Hospital.