By Wasita Royal
Rabaul Provincial Hospital in East New Britain now fully meets national waste management standards, following the installation of a newer and larger incinerator.
The incinerator is part of a World Bank funded initiative to install thirty-eight units across the country to manage Covid-19 and general medical waste. World Vision was tasked to construct shelters and install incinerators at ten hospital sites, with Rabaul being one of them.
Hospital Manager Dr Jimmy Kambo explained that the previous system meant the hospital was only partially meeting standards of raising environmental concerns for the nearby communities.
However, with the new incinerator, Dr Kambo confirmed that Rabaul Provincial Hospital has now fallen in line with the Environment Act 2000, SIPA requirements, and building board regulations. Each incinerator handles fifty kilograms per cycle, aiming to reduce healthcare associated infections.
The waste management improvements requested by the National Department of Health and CEPA include three waste treatment chambers, three chamber ash pits, an in-house shower for operators, a water tap to wash wheelie bins, pH strips to test acidity, and gas analysers to test smoke toxicity.
Similar incinerators have been installed at nine other hospital sites across the country, including the new Enga Provincial Hospital, Goroka General Hospital, Kudjip Nazarene Hospital, and Angau Memorial Hospital.