KP hospitals unable to dispose of medical waste in absence of incinerators

• A total of 15 incinerators are nonfunctional across different hospitals of the province.
• Incinerators are inactive due to the non-issuance of NOC from the environmental protection agency
• Incinerators are operational in only two hospitals of the province, per govt documents.

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PESHAWAR: Several incinerators have been lying inactive in hospitals across Khyber Pakhtunkhawa, making cleanliness and proper disposal of medical waste a challenge for hospital management, Geo News reported Wednesday, citing a government report. 

According to governmental documents, 15 incinerators — furnaces for burning waste — are non-functional across different hospitals of the province. Of the total, eight belong to medical teaching institutes, while seven are not being used in district headquarters (DHQ) hospitals. 

Per the document, incinerator machines at the Lady Reading Hospital, Khyber Teaching Hospital, Qazi Hussain Ahmed Hospital Nowshera are non-operational. In addition, incinerator machines at the Ayub Teaching Hospital Abbottabad and Bacha Khan Hospital Swabi are also inactive.

Machines at Khalifa Gul Nawaz, Bannu, and Mardan Medical Complex, Bannu, Nowshera, Swabi, Mardan, Charsadda, Kohat and Haripur DHQ hospitals are also inactive.

The document also states that the machines are inactive due to the non-issuance of no-objection certificates (NOC) from the environmental protection agency and also because of technical reasons.

Meanwhile, incinerator machines are operational in only two hospitals of the province, the report said.