Danger lurks in waters where hospitals dump used syringes

Used cotton wool and syringes with traces of blood are not an unusual sight on the banks of Kiberenge springs in Baringo County.

This, even as children and women draw drinking water downstream.

Some of the children pick the used syringes, fill them with water and play nurse; pretending to “inject” each other or imaginary patients.

Barefoot, they spray each other with water from the syringes, oblivious of the danger lurking in the discarded medical waste.

They have no single idea where the syringes come from or who dumped them by the river.

All they see are playthings.

“We do not know where the syringes come from, but some of them have blood stains. We clean them to remove the blood and pluck out the needle, then we fill them with water and play,” said one child. 

Quietly dumped

The Standard learnt that the syringes are just a tip of the iceberg; that several hospitals in the county quietly dump their medical waste along the river or on any open space.

Among the culprits is Kabarnet County Hospital. Officials from the National Environment  Management Authority (Nema) recently raided the hospital and expressed concern on its medical waste disposal mechanism.

According to Nema, the hospital lacks proper mechanisms to dispose of its biomedical and human waste. It does not have the much-needed incinerator to burn its waste.

Nema directed the facility to adhere to regulations on medical waste disposal, but to date very little has been done.

“The county government made an application and we are yet to meet to deliberate on the work plan. Among the issues to be discussed is solid waste management, sewerage treatment before discharge and an incinerator,” said County Nema Director Nyandoro Josiah.

But Kabarnet is not the only medical facility grappling with medical waste menace. Dumping of waste in the river is attributed to poor waste management mechanisms in most counties in the South Rift Region.

At Sirata Hospital, still in Baringo, stray dogs rummage through a disposal pit for hospital waste. There are no toilet blocks at the hospital. Patients and staff rely on nearby community toilets.

A report by a civil society organisation- Centre for Enhancing Democracy and Good Governance (CEDGG)- released in May this year indicted Baringo and Kericho counties for inadequate waste disposal facilities.

According to the social audit, many health facilities, particularly level II hospitals, do not have the requisite waste disposal facilities and use open pits.

Level  II  facilities in Baringo such as Rosoga, AIC Kiserian, Kabiyet and Igure dispensaries do not have incinerators for safe disposal of medical waste.

At the time of the audit, an incinerator was under construction in Kabiyet dispensary. The project that began in 2017 is still incomplete. The dispensary still transports its medical waste to Eldama Ravine Referral Hospital about 20km away for disposal. 

Whether all the waste reaches the hospital or some of it gets accidentally strewn along the way is up for investigation.

In AIC Kiserian, staff sort out medical waste that needs burning and take it to Mogotio Hospital about five kilometres away for disposal.

Besides the challenge of disposing medical waste, a number of level III health facilities either have poor drainage systems or none at all.

As such, many simply drain their waste in the nearest open space.

“In level II facilities, pits are the most common ways of disposing medical waste. While such pits are available in health facilities like Jagoror dispensary, it was noted that they are unfenced and open. Burning chambers for use in disposing medical waste are also not available in level II facilities,” stated the report in part.

In Bomet, medical waste collected from various hospitals is transported to Tenwek Mission Hospital.

Most affected hospitals are Longisa, Cheptala and Ndanai.

At Longisa, medical waste is simply dumped inside waste bins. Where it ends up, no one seems to know.

The hospital’s incinerator broke down early last year.

Most of the health centres and dispensaries openly burn their waste, exposing patients and staff to health risks.

According to the medics’ representative in Bomet, Dr Stephen Omondi, health workers have been pushing for purchase of an incinerator in the region for years now.

“This is an issue that should be addressed by installation of an incinerator. Some of the waste is  toxic and affects medical workers too,” said Dr Omondi.

Specialised training

He complained that a good number of hospital workers have not been given any specialised training on how to handle medical waste.

“We do not have trained medical waste handlers in hospitals. This is a serious matter that should be addressed,” he said.

Health Executive Joseph Sitonik admitted that a number of hospitals were dumping waste in the open due to lack of functional incinerators.

Dr Sitonik said the county had procured a new incinerator for Longisa under the current budget to handle waste from surrounding hospitals and clinics.

“Waste management has been an issue for several months with some hospitals dumping waste in bushes. This issue will be solved with installation of the new incinerator,” he said.

He conceded that officers from the department of public health have been handling the disposal of waste however they deemed fit, but promised that more health workers would be trained at the hospital level.

The situation is, however, better in Nakuru. In 2016, lack of proper waste management was identified as a major health hazard, with at least six hospitals accused of dumping waste at Gioto dumpsite, but things have improved since then.

Chief Officer of Public Health Samuel King’ori said the county had bought a Sh100 million disposal machine that can handle up to two tonnes of medical waste daily.