The World Bank has supported a project to build a medical waste treatment area with a total cost of VND120 billion (US$5.4 million) in this central province, health officials said.

Of the total cost, some VND106 billion ($5 million) will be funded through a loan from the World Bank and the rest will come from the local budget.

The health sector is working with the province’s authorities to complete the necessary procedures for building the medical waste treatment area, Nguyen Tan Duc, director of the province’s Health Department, said.

The project, which is scheduled to be completed by 2017, will focus on improving the management of solid waste from health care centres in the province. It covers the construction of a dedicated treatment area for hazardous medical waste from hospitals and health care centres. The project will also organise training classes to enhance awareness of the proper management of medical waste.

Once completed, the project will help treat 400kg of medical waste per day. The hazardous clinical/medical waste will be sterilised prior to being buried in the province’s landfills.

This news comes from VietnamNet. The image that they have used to illustrate the piece shows an open yellow clinical waste sack filled with items including several syringes.

Regrettably, this goes against best practice that demands disposal of syringes and needles intact but uncapped, since there is an additional risk of sharps injury during needle removal. This also addresses concerns as to the fate of those loose needles that might too be lurking unseen in that sack. That is unsafe and greatly increases the hazard to waste handlers and the risk of sharps or needlestick injury.

A blush pink Marigold won’t protect!