hence the reason for the meeting with all the hospitals

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Amidst rising concerns from the city’s sanitation workers, Chief Executive of the Guyana Water Inc. (GWI), Dr. Richard Van West-Charles, has met with representatives of hospitals regarding the disposal of medical waste.GWI CEO, Dr Richard Van West-Charles, speaking with representatives of hospitals last Friday.Present at last Friday’s meeting were representatives from the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, Woodlands Hospital, Davis Memorial Hospital and Balwant Singh Hospital.According to GWI, the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the disposal of medical waste following complaints by GWI sanitation employees about coming into contact with needles, syringes, discarded medical bandages and other forms of medical waste while executing their duties.“Our sanitation employees are alarmed by the amount of medical waste found in the GWI sewage tanker as well as sewage chambers outside of some hospitals,” stated Dr. Van West-Charles. “The health and safety of our employees cannot be compromised in any way, hence the reason for the meeting with all the hospitals; we must find a swift solution to this problem and protect the health of GWI’s sanitation employees.”City hospitals have been chided over the health hazards being created for sanitation employees by poorly disposed used syringes.The GWI Chief Executive explained that he recently met with all the employees of the Sanitation Department who described several alarming instances in which medical waste was discovered while cleaning sewage blockages or clearing overflows at various medical institutions within Georgetown.  Another instance included a sanitation employee stepping on used needles while attempting to clean the GWI sewage tanker.“This situation is unacceptable. I am asking that every medical institution review their practices with regard to the disposal of medical waste and that there be some significant changes in adhering to all guidelines that relate to the proper disposal of medical waste.”The GWI Chief Executive further stated that he is prepared to take the conversation to a larger public forum in order to garner immediate action.  ‘The management of GWI cannot accept that our sanitation workers are coming into contact with used needles on a regular basis. This issue is of paramount importance since it directly affects the lives of our employees and their families.”Dr. Van West-Charles urged all the representatives present to examine if there are breaches in adhering to guidelines which stipulate how to correctly dispose of medical waste and take corrective action.The Chief Executive also indicated that he will be engaging the Chief Medical Officer on the matter and more discussions will be held to resolve the issue.