The provincial and seven district hospitals operating in Antique are urged to come up with a concrete and sustainable solution to dispose of their medical wastes.

Board Member Karmila Rose Dimamay, in her privilege speech during their regular session on Monday, said that in July 2022 the provincial board already took cognizance of a garbage head of toxic wastes at the back of the Angel Salazar Memorial General Hospital (ASMGH), Antique’s provincial hospital located in San Jose de Buenavista town.

“This representation has introduced several legislative measures, lobbied during the budget hearing and deliberations, and found ways to look for sustainable and long-term solutions to the toxic wastes in ASMGH and the seven other hospitals managed by the provincial government. Still, the answer is not enough budget for the long-term solution,” Dimamay said.

She added that wastes have been reduced during her visit last week, but there is still a need for concrete and sustainable action.

Dr. Dion Perez, chief of the ASMGH, said that those wastes are mainly personal protective equipment accrued during the health pandemic and with their PHP3 million budget they were able to hire a licensed contractor to have them processed.

“We also implemented waste segregation that helped a lot in reducing the hospital waste,” Perez said in an interview.

Separate waste bins have been provided for food leftovers and office supplies of the hospital.

“I really do not have the figure as to our daily generated waste, but that we need a substantial amount to address the problem,” he said, adding that they will meet with the provincial board on Tuesday to discuss the concern. (PNA)