Asia’s oldest medical college and hospital- Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMC) seems to be well prepared to handle biomedical waste generated by its 1200 beds very day. The Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB) looks satisfied with the various technical processes adopted by the hospital to treat and dispose the waste on a daily basis.
The hospital generates on an average 800 kgs of medical waste per day. The waste includes waste from operation theatres, casualties and general and specialised wards, which needs to be generated and scientifically treated and disposed off on a daily basis. In 2013, the hospital was in the news for failing to have bio-medical waste authorization even after directions from the pollution board, after it was exposed that the GMC dumps its medical waste in an open space, many at times burnt, leading to severe environmental issues.
GSPCB chairman Jose Manuel Noronha said that during the past few inspections undertaken by the Board, it was observed that various facilities are in place to tackle the waste including Human Anatomical waste. Human Waste is incinerated, converting the same into municipal solid waste and collected by the Corporation of the City of Panjim. Bio medical waste (Final product of Ecodas System) of 60 kgs/hr is currently being incinerated.
GMC also has a bio-medical disposal plant (Ecodas System) to tackle other medical waste. “For now there is no complaint of any kind of violations from GMC as far as medical waste treatment is concerned,” Noronha said.
The State government has recently constituted an Expert Committee under the chairmanship of Noronha for setting up of Common Bio-medical Waste Treatment Facility (CBMWTF) to treat medical waste in Goa. States with 5000-bed capacity hospitals generate nearly two tons of medical waste every day. The facility is expected to come up at Verna Industrial estate.
