GPs claim clinical waste backlog prevents them seeing patients

GP practices in East Sussex have warned their CCG they will have to stop doing face-to-face appointments unless mounting amounts of clinical waste are urgently collected.

Dr Russell Brown, a GP at affected Manor Park Medical Centre, told Pulse that his practice is ‘overflowing in clinical waste bags’ after their weekly waste collections paused a month ago.

His practice, as well as two other local practices, have now warned the CCG they will soon be able to do telephone consultations only, due to a risk to health and safety.

In a letter seen by Pulse, his practice was informed of waste management contractor SRCL’s ‘poor performance’ over the past ‘4-6 weeks’, which is affecting both GP practices and pharmacies.

The letter from Anenta, the waste management company that manages NHS Enlgand’s waste collection contracts throughout large parts of southern England, said ‘collections continue to be missed with little to no communication from SRCL’.

Dr Brown’s practice has closed its patient toilet in order to store the excess waste but he told Pulse this solution would be short lived.

 

Well, it’s easy to find an excuse, and in this case even the GPs are using this as an excuse to do less work!

It probably won’t stop the GPs trying it on, but doesn’t the Environment Agency have a responsibility for oversight of waste management capacity? For some considerable number of years now, they have been manipulating this sector, sometimes belligerently and with a far from even hand. Perhaps now is the time for some positive and helpful action?

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