Punjab Healthcare Commission's Consultation On MSDS Implementation For Hospital Waste

The Punjab Healthcare Commission held a consultative meeting with all stakeholders with implementation of the Minimum Service Delivery Standards (MSDS) related to the Punjab Hospital Waste Management Rules 2014.

LAHORE, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st Mar, 2018 ) :The Punjab Healthcare Commission held a consultative meeting with all stakeholders with implementation of the Minimum Service Delivery Standards (MSDS) related to the Punjab Hospital Waste Management Rules 2014.

The meeting was chaired by Chief Operating Officer PHC Dr Muhammad Ajmal Khan and the proceedings were conducted by Director Clinical Governance and Organizational Standards Dr Mushtaq Ahmed Sulehria, who also briefed the participants about applicable laws, responsibilities of departments local bodies, municipal and town committees and various functionaries in hospitals.

Senior officers of the departments, representatives from solid waste management companies and managers of private hospitals from all over Punjab participated. Dr Sulehria apprised those attending of their legal obligations and the role of the PHC in improving delivery of quality healthcare services and ensuring safety of patients and service providers through the implementation of hospital infection control protocols, pertinent laws etc.

The participants discussed issues being faced by hospitals and stressed that all agencies and departments actively play their assigned roles to ensure proper disposal of infectious waste on regular basis.

The participants recommended that awareness and training be imparted to the staff concerned to ensure implementation of the rules and regulations and establish robust onside and offside monitoring to check pilferage.

The meeting also highlighted that the Provincial Sustainable Development Fund be operational. In order to resolve the issues of interpretation of international guidelines vis-a-vie Punjab Hospital Waste Management Rules 2014, it was decided to constitute a technical working group comprising representatives of the Punjab Healthcare Commission, Specialized Healthcare and Medical education Department, Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department, Environment Protection Department and Hepatitis Control Programme for clarifying required actions and roles of responsible executing agencies.

All hospitals are to ensure proper constitution of Waste Management Teams and designation of duties and roles to be performed by each member and responsible persons. It was appreciated that the Punjab Environmental Protection Council, under Section 3 of the PEPA 1997 (amended 2012), had been made functional and had conducted three meetings during the last year.

While welcoming the participants, Dr Muhammad Ajmal Khan said that prior to the PHC, Hospital Waste Management was not considered to be a major issue. He mentioned different steps taken by the PHC for ensuring quality in health service delivery and the safety of patients and the population at large.

Dr Zahida Sarwar, Programme Manager Hepatitis Control Programme, briefed about the steps taken to ensure hospital infection control by providing logistics, support and equipment for appropriate segregation, storage, and transportation of Hospital Waste.

"The programme has taken up installation of double chamber incinerators for infectious waste disposal in all 36 districts," she added. She also demonstrated the web-based tracking software being used to monitor hospital waste disposal and to stop pilferage of hospitals waste.