Children have been found opening bins containing hazardous waste outside a regional hospital and playing with used syringes.
That is according to a report published yesterday by the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG), following a review of waste-management practices in the State's publicly-funded hospitals.
John Purcell found that containers storing "risk" or dangerous waste were not in secure areas in five out of 10 hospitals visited. "In one regional hospital where the waste marshalling area was open, security camera footage recorded children opening risk waste bins and playing with used syringes," the report said.
The hospital where this occurred is not named and a spokesman for the C&AG's office said it had deliberately decided not to name the hospital involved or the hospitals which did not have "risk waste" securely cordoned off. The report said, however, that once it was discovered children had been playing with the syringes the hospital involved constructed a special area for the waste, installed security fencing and lockable gates.
The C&AG said properly secured waste areas were important as they also prevented unauthorised dumping into hospital skips and bins by the public. This had been a problem in some hospitals, the report noted.
In addition to hospital visits, Mr Purcell sent questionnaires to 111 hospitals seeking to examine trends in hospital waste management during the years 2000, 2001 and 2002. But lack of detailed records at hospital level meant it was possible to estimate the level of output of waste and the costs of waste handling by hospitals only in 2002.
In that year the direct costs incurred by hospitals in handling and disposing of waste was estimated at €13.2 million (or €15.5 million in 2004 prices). The total quantity of waste produced was estimated at around 27,500 tonnes.
A comparison with waste levels for hospitals in other jurisdictions showed output levels were similar for large hospitals but many small and medium-sized Irish hospitals had significantly higher waste levels than their equivalents elsewhere. "This suggests there is scope for such hospitals to reduce the amounts of waste they produce."
It said a high proportion of "non-risk" hospital waste could be recycled but the reported level of recycling by hospitals was low. Less than half were recycling cardboard in 2002.
"Hospitals in some areas have difficulty in finding contractors willing to accept the full range of recyclable material. . .finding space for a range of recycling bins was a problem".
Only seven of the 55 acute and maternity hospitals surveyed said they weighed their waste before sending it away so as to ensure they were only charged for what they sent. Some of the larger acute hospitals reported spending up to twice as much as others in containing waste.
"The estimated cost of containers for risk waste ranged from €380 per tonne to €745 per tonne - almost a 100 per cent difference - in four of the five major Dublin teaching hospitals. There was a similar variation - from €480 to €822 per tonne - between large regional hospitals."
None of the hospitals or health boards visited had adopted a clear set of targets for waste management performance.