Civil surgeons to ensure compliance of environmental laws in hospitals: Sidhu
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in/ Chandigarh
With a deep concern to provide healthy, disease free and safe environment, the Health & Family Welfare Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu has directed all the Civil Surgeons to ensure the compliance of various environmental laws in Government hospitals for safeguard of living beings and environment in all respect. He said that it is the responsibility of in-charge of health care facilities, whether government or private, to handle, treat and dispose of all kind of wastes scientifically.
Disclosing this here today, the Health Minister said that all the Government bedded healthcare establishments have been instructed to install the ETP (Effluent Treatment Plants) by 30 June, 2020. The Civil Surgeons have also been instructed to submit PERT (Program Evaluation and Review Techniques) charts for various activities regarding installation of Effluent Treatment Plant in Government hospitals. He said that that soon, water meters will also be installed to curb the wastage of water in all Government Hospitals.
Sidhu said that it is legal responsibility of government and private hospitals to ensure proper treatment of waste water and scientific disposal of treated waste water as well as all kind of bio-medical waste so that it cannot affect the living beings and environment.
The Cabinet Minister further said that all activities to install the ETP to be chalked out within time bound manners and ensured to be completed under the supervision of concerned Civil Surgeons. He said that the requisite environmental permissions from the concerned department to be obtained, failure of which shall attract strict action against the in-charge healthcare establishment. He instructed the Civil Surgeons to submit the action taken report within seven days.
Sidhu also said that Senior Medical Officers should ensure that all the contaminated plastic and bio medical waste material to be cut and needles to be shredded before storage and hand over to the common bio-medical waste treatment facility so that same could not be reused illegally, in any manners.
To enhance maximum utilization of paper and to reduce wastage of paper in offices, he also asked the Director Health Services to issue instruction to all Government Hospitals to use paper from both sides for writing and printing.
