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Scandal, carcinogenic hospital waste becomes a mountain inside the QSUT

2025-02-18 21:41:00, Denoncim CNA

A QSUT nurse denounces to the editorial office of the "Stop" show that the autoclave has not been working for a month and, as a result, hospital waste has accumulated on the device in a room and outside it, throughout the building, creating a hotbed of infection that risks spreading.

The 180 nurses alone, who have direct contact with this infection bomb, not only put themselves at risk, but could easily become spreaders of dangerous microbes.

"I am an employee of the QSUT. The big problem for us is hospital waste. We deliver the garbage at 7:00, in a 6-meter container, we have to lift two bins to go. We go down the roundabout to get to the morgue, there the car comes and picks it up and throws it to the processor. There is hospital waste that is taken at 10:00, to the autoclave. The autoclave is full and has not been working, for a month. The waste has completely covered the room along with the autoclave, it has gone outside and no one comes to pick it up. Going in there is surprising, while we continue to work every day in that hotbed of infection. We are 180 employees. We do not know what the problem is, they do not give any explanations there about what is wrong. We cannot complain that they are firing us. There is waste from surgeries and all the blood. We have told them and they are afraid. "We are seeking a solution to this problem because our work has been slandered," the whistleblower said on the microphone of the "Stop" show.

"Stop" went during the night to verify the situation and saw that the autoclave was not working. This situation has been going on for several days, even though there are several institutions next to the autoclave, dentistry, the "Eqerem Cabej" high school, and support houses.

"Stop" communicated with the director of support services at the QSUT, Erion Ngjela, who denies the situation, saying that the autoclave is working.

Journalist: Hello, Mr. Ngjela, how are you? I'm impressed that the autoclave has been out of order for a month.

Erion Ngjela: No, the autoclave is working!

Journalist: Where is the autoclave at work?

Erion Ngjela: The autoclave is working.

Journalist: But if the autoclave is working, why isn't this hospital waste being burned?

Erion Ngjela: No, they are not waste that is burned in an autoclave! They are separated waste.

Journalist: Sir, we're talking about this waste here. Why hasn't this waste been disposed of, does it seem normal to throw it in the trash?

Erion Ngjela: Please, make a request to the information department, so that I can give an official response!

But on the other hand, the person responsible for this process admits that there is no contract for the operation of the autoclave.

Journalist: Hello, are you the person in charge here?

Manager: I'm busy at the moment.

Journalist: Well, why is all that waste collected there?

Manager: Because we don't have a contract.

Journalist: Well, is this normal?

The person in charge: The autoclave works simply…

Journalist: Who is responsible for this?

Manager: We don't have a contract. There are legal procedures, the procedures will be completed, the moment the contract is renewed, we will continue with the collection of waste.

In the official response, the QSUT says that the autoclave is working, the contract is being drawn up, and according to a VKM, the waste can stay there for 45 days.

Representatives of the company "Loerma shpk" say that this waste should not be kept for even 5 days.

Loerma SHPK Company: One of the points of the Albanian law also says 45 days of waste storage. No one asked me, when they made the law because if they asked me, I would say "oh brother, you shouldn't keep this kind of waste even for 5 days, because it is a source of infection for me". You can do the waste treatment yourself, but you need a final contract, where you will take it. Because every treatment of hospital waste, creates its own process, there is ash that remains, and this ash, you can simply take it to one of these incinerators, that we have today in Albania.

On the other hand, the company "Montal shpk" explains that the contract has expired and they have not renewed it, as they are not interested.

Montal SHPK Company: To my knowledge, we do not have an active contract for that equipment. We have sent a letter to the hospital, informing them that we will not maintain it in the future. I do not know if they did another procedure after that, but we have not followed up because we have no interest in it, because we can no longer maintain it. It is a very old piece of equipment. It has been working here at full capacity for the entire time, since it was put into operation! /tvklan.al