Investigating financial misconduct at the RG Kar Medical College & Hospital, Kolkata, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has asked the West Bengal health department to provide a report on the state's medical institutions' biomedical waste management practices.
This investigation follows allegations that improper treatment of biomedical waste is an aspect of the financial scandal.
The first question the central agency asked the state health department was when the state's central policies on biomedical waste were put into effect, sources told PTI.
The second question was if the state health administration had been keeping an eye on hospitals and medical schools to make sure they were following the established guidelines for disposing of biomedical waste.
According to sources, the CBI has discovered serious inconsistencies in the biological waste disposal process.
Hospitals must adhere to strict protocols in order to avoid reusing biological resources. Reusable products including syringes, needles, and saline bottles, however, have been found to be sold on the market rather than disposed of appropriately.
It is also required of every hospital to maintain documentation of the quantity of biomedical waste they have disposed of over time. It has been observed that RG Kar Medical College's reported waste disposal volume is substantially less than that of other comparable-sized state-run healthcare facilities.
Investigators have also identified two Bangladeshi nationals who were regular visitors to Kolkata and had ties to Dr Sandip Ghosh, the former principal of RG Kar Medical College.
The primary job of these Bangladeshi nationals was acquiring medical supplies to be sold to different hospitals throughout their country.
