mbulelo smpofu
Nqobile Tshili, nqobile.tshili@chronicle.co.zw
MPILO Central Hospital in Bulawayo is gearing up to revolutionise medical waste management in southern Zimbabwe with the imminent launch of its state-of-the-art medical incinerator. To support this crucial initiative, four specialised vehicles — three refuse collection trucks, a thrasher, and a double cab — have been recently delivered to the hospital.
This modern incinerator, developed in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), will serve as a regional hub, safely disposing of medical waste from Bulawayo, Matabeleland South, Matabeleland North, and Masvingo. It will also have the capacity to process industrial waste, addressing a critical environmental and public health concern.
It is the second of its kind in Zimbabwe, with the first housed at Sally Mugabe Central Hospital in Harare.
An incinerator is essential for enhancing the management of medical waste in health centres. Healthcare waste includes sharps, non-sharps, blood, body parts, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and radioactive materials. This waste contains potentially harmful micro-organisms that can infect patients, health workers, and the general public.
Currently, the available incinerators at most of the country’s hospitals fail to meet the minimum requirements, including holding capacity and temperatures necessary to properly treat the waste.
Globally, an estimated 16 billion injections are administered annually, but not all needles and syringes are disposed of safely afterwards.
A giant structure housing the modern equipment for the incinerator is being furnished at the hospital. Adjacent to it is a smaller, old brick-built and cracked incinerator that the hospital is currently using.
Mpilo Central Hospital’s chief medical officer, Dr Narcisius Dzvanga, said that with the new incinerator, the hospital will also be able to dispose of waste from the region and even for the private sector.
“We have just received four vehicles which will be used when we start operating the incinerator. We have a thrasher, two standard refuse trucks, and a double cab vehicle which I think will be used by one of the engineers. Works on the incinerator are now at a final stage.
“We are going to be very busy and we are running behind schedule as it was supposed to be functional last year, so I think anytime from now we will be running. We have recruited staff and all that and we are waiting to get a nod from the engineers,” said Dr Dzvanga
He said that the new medical incinerator is so huge and powerful that the hospital will not be able to use it to full capacity.
Dr Dzvanga stressed the importance of the vehicles in efficiently carrying the waste for disposal.
“The idea is that this truck, in addition to what the city council can collect, can go to small towns and hospitals and bring medical waste for incineration here. When it starts operating, it should operate 24/7 throughout the year. It must not be switched off. I’m really excited about the development.
“An incinerator is a decent disposal method for any waste, but for this incinerator, the term they are using is that it’s for the disposal of medical waste — things like amputated legs, arms, uteruses, and specimens,” said Dr Dzvanga.
He said the hospital is also looking forward to disposing of waste for the private sector, something which was previously only happening in Harare.
“But we are also saying that we have the potential to take waste from industry and dispose of it properly. At the moment, some of the items are being sent to Hwange Colliery Company Limited where the heat generated is high enough to dissolve bottles and so forth.
“We are saying once our incinerator is working, there is no need for industry or hospitals to take their specimens to Hwange. Even there, it is not free; they pay. They pay for transport to go there and you pay for the specimen.” – @nqotshili
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