By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

FNM Chairman Dr Duane Sands has sounded the alarm over what he described as dangerous neglect in the handling of medical waste at Rand Memorial Hospital, warning it poses a serious health and environmental risk.

During a visit to Freeport last Thursday, the former Minister of Health said he was appalled to find a dumpster overflowing with medical waste and numerous red biohazard bins left piled up for more than six months outside the hospital’s Operating Room.

Dr Sands, who travels to Grand Bahama twice a month to perform surgeries at the Rand, said he has repeatedly pressed the government to fix the problem.

“This has been something I was talking about for months and months,” he said. “I have begged, pleaded, implored, demanded, and asked the Ministry of Health and Wellness, through the Public Hospitals Authority (PHA), to empty the garbage that has been collecting outside of the Operating Room of the Rand Memorial Hospital. Bags and bags of biological waste have been here unemptied for months — more than six months.”

He added that while there are occasional efforts to reduce the pile-up, “it is never ever emptied.”

Dr Sands said the accumulation has attracted rodents and insects, creating filthy, foul-smelling conditions. “If you could imagine in the heat of the summer to have garbage sitting around for more than six months, the kind of creatures that are bred, sustained, nourished in this environment,” he said. 

In a Facebook post, he described a dumpster “completely full of red bags,” with containers recently removed “to an unknown site.” He questioned why the Rand’s functioning incinerator is not being used.

“One of the questions we have to ask is, why are we not using the incinerator that is functioning in Grand Bahama? Is there a contract for the management of biological waste in Grand Bahama?” he asked.

When The Tribune visited the site on Wednesday, red biohazard bins were still visible, some hidden behind ambulances parked on the compound. The dumpster itself was obscured by a 40-foot trailer but remained filled with medical waste.

The hospital administrator was unavailable for comment and did not return calls.

Efforts have since been made to clean up the area, but the biohazard dumpster remains full.

In February, the PHA assured the public that biohazardous waste at the Rand is managed under established protocols and international standards, explaining that waste is shipped to New Providence for incineration. Officials blamed delays on poor weather and the availability of private transport.