The AIDS counselling and testing centre (CTC) at Indira Gandhi Government Medical College and Hospital (IGGMCH) is proving to be more harmful than useful. The ground outside the centre's building is littered with used needles and syringes. The authorities refuse to take responsibility for this incorrect method of disposing biomedical waste.
The CTC provides free AIDS counselling and testing to patients. The area outside this centre is strewn with infected material. This area is regularly used by relatives of patients as an access road to the only bathroom in the hospital premises. On Tuesday, a man was accidentally pricked by one of the needles while walking down the pathway.
"When my friend got pricked in the afternoon, we immediately rushed to the counselling centre upstairs. The counsellor told us it was nothing to worry about. We went to the superintendent Dr Ajay Keoliya afterwards to report the irresponsible act and he also took the issue casually," said Jitendra Singh Thakur, friend of the victim.
"I got the information really late in the day and had to leave as I had an examination the following day. Moreover, I would not be of any help since the issue is not under my jurisdiction. The centre is run by the District AIDS Prevention & Control Unit (DAPCU)," Dr Keoliya told TOI.
The sanitation officer of the hospital Suresh Jhadode too said he knew about the incident but was helpless since that area was not in his jurisdiction.
Another senior officials at the hospital went a step further, and laid the blame on the people who passed by. "Patients and their relatives have no business coming this way; this is supposed to be a wasteland," he said.
Ideally, these needles and syringes should be cut or crushed before being disposed off in the incinerator. The way they are thrown on the ground outside the building, however, they seem to have been thrown out of the window of the counselling centre. This improper disposal of potentially harmful biomedical waste poses a danger of spread of infections.
"Being educated people, we knew the probable dangers of a small prick by a discarded needle. I wonder what a poor person with not much knowledge would have done under similar circumstances," said Jitendra.
District program officer Ganesh Periyar was on leave and did not know about the incident. However, he promised quick action.
"Our lab technician has been attending a training camp for the last ten days. We can't say for sure if the needles were thrown by our staffers. We stick to the universal norms of disposing our waste safely," he said.
Lab technician Atul Jangde said he never saw such a thing. "Had I noticed the needles when I was on duty, I would have notified the seniors and asked the attendants to clear it," he said.
Fortunately, after TOI spoke to senior officials, there was an inspection in the afternoon and everything had been cleaned up when TOI went to the spot again.
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