THE provincial department of health is investigating a GP in Peddie who allegedly dumped medical waste near her surgery.
Dr Rezeya Jassat is under fire for allegedly endangering the lives of community members in the small Peddie town.
The medical waste, which includes used syringes and needles, gloves and empty medicine bottles, was discovered on Thursday near the surgery.
Health spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said: “An investigation was opened and officials from Amathole District Municipality visited the surgery.” He said his department was concerned about illegal dumping of medical waste .
“This is a serious matter. Peddie is a small town, and children and other people in the community were endangered by this negligence. Medical waste is not supposed to be collected by the municipality in the first place, there is a special way we collect it,” Kupelo said.
When the Dispatch contacted the surgery yesterday Dr Jassat was reportedly on holiday but employee Patricia Manjezi denied the allegations, saying the waste was only cardboard and plastic from the surgery.
“ We would never dump medical waste carelessly. That is against the law and we know that ,” Manjezi said.
Kupelo said appropriate action will be taken against Jassat after the relevant officials addressed her.
“ Used needles are very dangerous, people could have been infected with different diseases as a result ,” Kupelo said.
The department of health has a contract with a private company to collect medical waste from hospitals, and private doctors reportedly dumped their waste at hospitals as it was expensive to dispose of medical waste, a move Kupelo described as an expense to the Eastern Cape health department. —
Health probes Peddie doctor
Dr Rezeya Jassat is under fire for allegedly endangering the lives of community members in the small Peddie town.
The medical waste, which includes used syringes and needles, gloves and empty medicine bottles, was discovered on Thursday near the surgery.
Health spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said: “An investigation was opened and officials from Amathole District Municipality visited the surgery.” He said his department was concerned about illegal dumping of medical waste .
“This is a serious matter. Peddie is a small town, and children and other people in the community were endangered by this negligence. Medical waste is not supposed to be collected by the municipality in the first place, there is a special way we collect it,” Kupelo said.
When the Dispatch contacted the surgery yesterday Dr Jassat was reportedly on holiday but employee Patricia Manjezi denied the allegations, saying the waste was only cardboard and plastic from the surgery.
“ We would never dump medical waste carelessly. That is against the law and we know that ,” Manjezi said.
Kupelo said appropriate action will be taken against Jassat after the relevant officials addressed her.
“ Used needles are very dangerous, people could have been infected with different diseases as a result ,” Kupelo said.
The department of health has a contract with a private company to collect medical waste from hospitals, and private doctors reportedly dumped their waste at hospitals as it was expensive to dispose of medical waste, a move Kupelo described as an expense to the Eastern Cape health department. —
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