The Commission on Audit has called the attention of Bulacan Gov. Wilhemino Sy-Alvarado regarding the improper disposal and irregular collection of hazardous and infectious wastes from seven local hospitals.
It raised concerns that the patients, medical and non-medical staff and even the public could face health risks.
In a 2018 annual audit report, state auditors said the provincial government’s Bulacan Medical Center, Rogaciano Mercado Memorial Hospital, Emilio Perez Memorial Hospital, Baliuag District Hospital, San Miguel District Hospital, Calumpit District Hospital and Gregorio del Pilar District Hospital violated Republic Act 8749 or the Philippine Clean Air Act, Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act, and the Department of Health Manual on Health Care Management.
“Hazardous and infectious wastes generated by seven district hospitals were not regularly collected from six months to one year, thus exposed hospital patients, health workers, and the general public to the danger of human wastes, infectious diseases, and other toxic wastes,” the report read.
COA called out the Bulacan Medical Center, Rogaciano M. Mercado Memorial Hospital and Emilio G. Perez Memorial District Hospital for improper bagging and storage, and piling up several months’ heaps of uncollected hospital waste.
The Baliuag District Hospital, San Miguel District Hospital, and Calumpit District Hospital had been lauded for their efforts to implement organized handling and storage of hospital wastes, CoA still warned them for non-collection for at least six months.
On the other hand, the Gregorio del Pilar District Hospital was cited for its “organized disposal of hospital waste” in color-coded bags, but state auditors called the hospital management’s attention for the lack of a suitable space for temporary storage.
State auditors blamed the provincial government for designating the solid waste management to the general services office, instead of giving the assignment to the Bulacan environmental and natural resources office.
“The audit team believes that these conditions were caused partly, by the fact that no office or department in the Provincial Government of Bulacan was specifically charged with the functions of overseeing that solid waste and hospital waste management are implemented,” CoA said.
The management of the seven hospitals were ordered to comply with the Department of Health’s manual on hospital operations, while the provincial’s general services officer was required to consider the procurement of separate service providers for the hauling and disposal of waste per hospital, instead of just one for all hospitals currently provided by a single firm.
The provincial government promised to take the necessary actions to adopt the audit recommendations.