Medical waste rots on hospital floor
10 February 2010, 07:06
By Kristen van Schie
A payment dispute between Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital and a waste removal company has left the basement of the hospital filling up with dangerous bio-medical waste.
The company, Phambili Wasteman, stopped removing waste two weeks ago, claiming the hospital has failed to make payments. But Charlotte Maxeke CEO Dr Barney Selebano disagrees.
"I want to emphasise that Charlotte Maxeke Hospital has paid them," he said. "Whatever problems they're encountering have nothing to do with us."
Selebano said the hospital had paid the company about R1,3 million in December and another R500 000 last month.
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A payment dispute between Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital and a waste removal company has left the basement of the hospital filling up with dangerous bio-medical waste.
The company, Phambili Wasteman, stopped removing waste two weeks ago, claiming the hospital has failed to make payments. But Charlotte Maxeke CEO Dr Barney Selebano disagrees.
"I want to emphasise that Charlotte Maxeke Hospital has paid them," he said. "Whatever problems they're encountering have nothing to do with us."
Selebano said the hospital had paid the company about R1,3 million in December and another R500 000 last month.
Democratic Alliance Gauteng health spokesman Jack Bloom confirmed this. Bloom visited the hospital yesterday, where he was shown records by Selebano and the financial department indicating that the hospital had made the payments.
"From my point of view, the payments have been made," he said. "The company must now meet its commitments."
Bloom also visited the basement of the hospital, where he said there were hundreds of boxes that should never have been allowed to build up.
Photos provided by Bloom show row upon row of cardboard boxes marked "Caution" in big red letters and bearing the symbol for hazardous bio-medical waste.
"It's really ghoulish," he said. "There's all manner of infectious agents in medical waste."
And while Bloom could not confirm whether there was any immediate danger, a lingering smell is starting to make its way through the hospital's ventilation system.
"It's putrid," said Bloom. "It's terrible. I mean, there's rotting placenta in some of those boxes."
He described it as "appalling" that patients and staff had to suffer the stench of medical waste.
The hospital's kitchen is apparently very close to the basement where the waste is being stored.
"It's an embarrassing situation," admitted Selebano.
Realising that Phambili Wasteman will not do the work, he has contacted another waste removal company, Buhle Waste, to deal with the issue.
Yesterday it was still not apparent how much of the waste was to be removed, but Selebano said at least five trucks would be needed to get rid of the backlog.
Meanwhile, Phambili Wasteman is standing its ground. Managing director Vincent Charnley insisted the company has not been paid for "months and months".
A statement issued by Phambili put the blame on the Gauteng Department of Health.
Phambili Wasteman claims to be only one of creditors not being paid by the Health Department.
The letter from the department, of which The Star has a copy, admitted that the cash-flow problem would make it difficult for suppliers to fulfil their obligations, but said it would pay Phambili Wasteman R7 867 042 in the April-May pay run.
- This article was originally published on page 2 of The Star on February 10, 2010
Pretoria
