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The scientific and research team behind the Historical Dictionary will continue their diligent work in collaboration with the Arabic Language Academy in the emirate
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Sharjah sees 100% registration for medical waste collection
All the medical centres in Sharjah have registered with Wekaya, the company that collects medical wastes for the emirate.
According to a senior official of the firm, nearly 53 tonnes of medical waste was handled by the company in March 2012 alone. On average, Sharjah generates 2.7 tonnes of medical waste per day.
He said that only one medical centre was shut down in the emirate since it did not register with the company.
“All medical centres including 32 Ministry of Health facilities are registered with us,” Khalifa Al Shaibani, General Manager of Wekaya, told Khaleej Times. “Before we started the facility in June last year, majority of the centres were disposing of medical waste illegally by dumping it in routine garbage. This was causing diseases and putting lives of the residents at risk.”
However, the medical facilities have to pay a fee structure approved by the Sharjah Executive Council to be part of Wekaya. Private and public medical establishments pay an annual fee ranging from Dh440 (per doctor) to Dh1,000 (depending on the number of doctors and the size of the facility). Charges in other emirates range between Dh2,200 and 3,000 per year.
Other charges include a fee to train a medical waste officer (Dh1,000) and a one-time registration fee of Dh200. The high fee to process medical waste has been a bone of contention between Wekaya and medical facilities.
Failure to pay the fee will put the licence of the facilities at risk. Two written warnings are issued in 14 days, after which the establishments will be fined Dh5,000. Thereafter, the facility will be closed down for 90 days or permanently.
“Sharjah, which operates under the Healthy Cities Programme of the World Health Organization (WHO), demonstrates viable environmental, social, cultural and economic characteristics that comply with the programme’s criteria,” said Al Shaibani.
Wekaya provides services to more than 450 health facilities operating in Sharjah, including 32 accredited facilities under the Ministry of Health in the city of Sharjah and the Eastern and Central region.
In addition to successfully training 535 workers in the health sector to guide them on safe handling of medical waste, Wekaya has established a dedicated station to treat medical waste in Sharjah, Al Shaibani said.
asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com
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