Authorities in Ho Chi Minh City are conducting an inspection of medical waste-treatment management at local health establishments this month.
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| Medical waste treatment is being put under scrutiny |
A joint working group from the Health Department, the Environment and Natural Resources Department, and the Environmental Police are checking the quality of waste treatment systems and will fine medical establishments that have not installed them.
Huynh Van Biet, deputy director of the Health Department, said inspectors will also issue warnings to hospitals and clinics without waste treatment systems and to those with substandard systems.
Another inspection will be launched in September to recheck the current violators, he said.
If the violators do not have a waste treatment system by that time, they will be forced to stop operations.
There were 52 public hospitals in HCM City, 31 of which have medical waste treatment systems that meet standards, said the city's Health Department.
Of the 322 clinics in wards and communes across the city, 157 have been equipped with medical waste treatment systems.
The Health Department plans to complete installing the systems for the remaining stations this month.
Most of the 285 private medical establishments in the city do not have waste treatment systems.