With a view to promptly rectifying the management of medical waste from hospitals and protecting the environment as well as the people’s health, the Minister of Health on July 6 issued Directive No. 05/CT-BYT to enhance the management of hospital waste.
Accordingly, directors of provincial-level health departments, heads of health units of ministries and sectors are required to further advise provincial-level People’s Committees or heads of ministries or sectors to allocate funds for building medical waste treatment systems for hospitals currently listed as seriously polluting establishments.
They will also have to step up the approval and implementation of projects to build World Bank-funded medical waste treatment facilities and allocate funds for building waste treatment systems for other medical establishments in their localities.
They are also tasked to intensify interdisciplinary cooperation, inspection and supervision of medical waste management and handling of violations of the law on environmental protection.
Hospitals are responsible for disseminating and guiding regulations on medial waste management among their employees and assigning the task of waste management and environmental protection to a specific faculty or department.
Annually, these hospitals have to earmark funds for purchasing tools, devices and chemicals necessary for sorting, collection, transportation and treatment of medical waste.-
