{"id":15278,"date":"2020-10-02T19:05:19","date_gmt":"2020-10-02T19:05:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.com\/kenya\/?p=15278"},"modified":"2020-10-02T19:05:19","modified_gmt":"2020-10-02T19:05:19","slug":"medical-waste-big-headache-to-counties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/community\/medical-waste-big-headache-to-counties","title":{"rendered":"Medical waste big headache to counties"},"content":{"rendered":"

Author:\u00a0MERCY KAHENDA\u00a0<\/strong>
\nAfricaPress-Kenya:<\/strong> Counties in the Rift Valley region are struggling to manage infectious medical waste amid the Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

Some of the counties do not have standard incinerators to manage the waste.<\/p>\n

Laikipia County, for example, collects approximately 150 kilogrammes of medical\u00a0waste\u00a0daily, which is managed within burning chambers.<\/p>\n

The medical\u00a0waste\u00a0is segregated at the hospital level by a team of public health officers in colour-coded bin liners for transportation to the burning chambers, which are at Nyahururu County Hospital and Nanyuki Teaching and Referral Hospital. Covid-19\u00a0waste\u00a0is also managed at the facilities.<\/p>\n

However, the collection and transportation of\u00a0waste\u00a0is a challenge as it risks infections to handlers and as well as the local community.<\/p>\n

Transportation is also done in open lorries, which is also a health hazard.<\/p>\n

Safety measures observed at the burning chambers are wanting as, for example, sharp items like needles do not burn to expected temperatures, making the site a magnet for infectious diseases.<\/p>\n

Some of the\u00a0waste\u00a0at the burning chamber, including used cotton wool, is usually blown away by the wind to the compound, forcing the employees to pick them for disposal.<\/p>\n

Birds also scavenge at the chambers, tear\u00a0waste\u00a0like surgical masks and used cotton wool as the burning chamber is open.<\/p>\n

Private facilities on the other hand are being accused of disposing\u00a0waste\u00a0at dumpsites where children scavenge for valuables.<\/p>\n

\u201cNeedles and other metallic\u00a0waste\u00a0do not burn, forcing us to bury them as a safety measure,\u201d a health employee said.<\/p>\n

A health official who requested anonymity because he is not allowed to speak to the media said some of the support staff have been oriented in safe handling of\u00a0waste.<\/p>\n

Infectious\u00a0waste<\/p>\n

But the supervision of medical\u00a0waste\u00a0is undertaken by Public Health Officers, who have adequate knowledge of how such\u00a0waste\u00a0should be handled.<\/p>\n

Plans are, however, underway to set up an incinerator at Nanyuki Teaching and Referral Hospital, according to Health Executive Joseph Lenai. The facility will be constructed at a cost of Sh40 million.<\/p>\n

Health records indicate that the county has a total of 115 health facilities, among them two-level four hospitals.<\/p>\n

The state of incinerators managing infectious\u00a0waste\u00a0in Nyandarua County is also in a pathetic state.<\/p>\n

All\u00a0waste\u00a0is managed at burning chambers due to a lack of standard incinerators.<\/p>\n

The burning chambers are located at Ol Kalau and Engineer hospitals.<\/p>\n

The burning chimney at Ol Kalau has caved in with combustion not as per the public health standards.<\/p>\n

Choking smoke seals the air that is hazardous to human health as it spreads to the neighbouring homesteads.<\/p>\n

Examples of\u00a0waste\u00a0disposed in the pit before being burnt include used cotton wool, syringes, and gloves contaminated with blood, drips, and general\u00a0waste.<\/p>\n

Despite the availability of a burning chamber located adjacent to the pit, medical\u00a0waste\u00a0including bottles of expired and used drugs, can be spotted within the locality.<\/p>\n

Health executive John Mungai said the Sh2 million incinerator installed at JM Kariuki Hospital will be operationalised soon.<\/p>\n

The facility has a capacity of managing 50 kilogrammes of medical\u00a0waste\u00a0per hour.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are planning to install electricity at the facility to enable us manage the medical\u00a0waste\u00a0in a proper manner,\u201d said the official.<\/p>\n

There is an additional incinerator at North Kinangop Mission Hospital.<\/p>\n

Baringo County has two combustion incinerators at Kabarnet and Eldama Ravine hospitals.<\/p>\n

According to public health officer Samuel Ruto, the county produces at least 320 kilogrammes of medical\u00a0waste\u00a0daily.<\/p>\n

Other hospitals across the country transport\u00a0waste\u00a0to Kabarnet County Hospital for management.<\/p>\n

There are at least 206 public facilities in the county, where\u00a0waste\u00a0is segregated for transportation to the incinerators.<\/p>\n

Ruto said at least 850 health care workers have been trained on infection prevention through proper handling of hospital\u00a0waste\u00a0at facility level.<\/p>\n

\u201cWaste\u00a0produced amid Covid-19 has slightly increased, and to avoid infections, we have sensitised all health workers on handling it,\u201d said Ruto.<\/p>\n

Bomet County recently constructed an incinerator at Longisa Hospital.\u00a0Before then, the\u00a0waste\u00a0was managed at Tenwek Mission Hospital.<\/p>\n

Notably, Nakuru County has produced more than 16,477kg of health care\u00a0waste\u00a0during the Covid-19 period.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Author:\u00a0MERCY KAHENDA\u00a0 AfricaPress-Kenya: Counties in the Rift Valley region are struggling to manage infectious medical waste amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Some of the counties do not have standard incinerators to manage the waste. Laikipia County, for example, collects approximately 150 kilogrammes of medical\u00a0waste\u00a0daily, which is managed within burning chambers. The medical\u00a0waste\u00a0is segregated at the hospital […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":15279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,8],"tags":[5901,5903,5902],"class_list":["post-15278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","category-homepage-english","tag-health-hazard","tag-medical-waste","tag-waste-management"],"yoast_head":"\nMedical waste big headache to counties - kenya<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Counties in the Rift Valley region are struggling to manage infectious medical waste amid the Covid-19 pandemic.\u00a0Some of the counties do\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/community\/medical-waste-big-headache-to-counties\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Medical waste big headache to counties\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Counties in the Rift Valley region are struggling to manage infectious medical waste amid the Covid-19 pandemic.\u00a0Some of the counties do\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/community\/medical-waste-big-headache-to-counties\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"kenya\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-10-02T19:05:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2020\/10\/medical_waste_big_he5f760f7e93f00.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/community\/medical-waste-big-headache-to-counties#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/community\/medical-waste-big-headache-to-counties\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Medical waste big headache to counties\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-10-02T19:05:19+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/community\/medical-waste-big-headache-to-counties\"},\"wordCount\":695,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/community\/medical-waste-big-headache-to-counties#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2020\/10\/medical_waste_big_he5f760f7e93f00.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Health Hazard\",\"Medical Waste\",\"Waste Management\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\",\"homepage-english\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/community\/medical-waste-big-headache-to-counties#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/community\/medical-waste-big-headache-to-counties\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/community\/medical-waste-big-headache-to-counties\",\"name\":\"Medical waste big headache to counties - 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