Nakuru Level 5 has acquired a shredder and microwave to process the medical waste disposal of more than 20 health facilities in the county.
The Sh90 million equipment will ensure proper medical waste disposal by shredding the waste into small pieces and then burn it.
The Medical Superintendent of the Referral Hospital, Dr. Joseph Mburu said that the National Government donated the machine to the health facility to help process the medical waste.
“The machine was acquired through collaboration between the county and national government in a bid to comply with standard operating procedures set by WHO to combat hazards of medical waste.,” Mburu said.
A Nakuru Task force Committee formed last year by Governor Lee Kinyanjui had said that the county lacked a proper medical waste disposal system. They said Nakuru residents have for many years been faced with heath risks posed by improper disposal of medical waste by health facilities.
James Tuitoek, who chaired the task force had said after the three months investigations they discovered that many health facilities bury their waste, while some burn it.
The team cited Molo Sub county Hospital, where the site of the proposed Medical Training College will be located, is strewn with medical waste.
“Some of the medical waste had been excavated as the foundations of a building was being dug. Expiry dates between 1992-2005 were seen and captured on partially burnt vials,” Tuitoek said.
The team noted that most health facilities transport their medical waste to Langa Langa health centre for destruction.
“Various facilities house poor-quality burning chambers that churn out partially burnt medical waste, which are later disposed of by burying in shallow pits,” Tuitoek said.
“This poses a grave threat to their health as they come into contact with blood-soaked cotton pieces, used syringes, remnants of flesh from surgery and other biomedical waste,” he added.
The team said that the residents risked contracting diseases such as hepatitis and HIV. “We have visited 20 health facilities and most of them cannot dispose of expired drugs because they lack incinerators,” Tuitoek said.
The machine will start operations from next month and staff will be trained on handling the medical waste.
There are only two functional incinerators in the county; one at the Nakuru Level 5 hospital and another at Langa Langa subcounty hospital.
The task force recommended that the county invest in cost-effective disposal systems that include medium-capacity incinerator
The team was formed the task force to look into the ailing health sector and recommend ways of revamping it.
The Shredder will be used to destroy plastic and paper waste to prevent their reuse. Only waste that is disinfected should be used in a shredder.
“It will mutilate the already disinfected waste and will be processing 20 tonnes at ago,” said the Medical Superintendent.
“The shredder is usually used in combination with an autoclave or a microwave. It could be used in individual institutions or in common treatment and disposal facilities. This also reduces the bulk of waste making transportation easy,”said Dr. Mburu.
He said that the waste is fed into a hopper leading to a set of revolving blades/shafts that cut the waste into small pieces. These pass through a mesh and are collected at the bottom. Larger particles retained on the mesh are once again passed through the cutters.
He added that Syringes, Saline Bottle, IV Tubes, Catheters and other plastic tubing are some of the medical waste to be shredded.