Community outraged as used hospital items are dumped near Nyanga primary school

Residents of Nomazwe in Nyanga, Cape Town, say they noticed heaps of dumped used hospital items, including bedding and stained gowns, opposite their homes and at the corner of a nearby primary school on Wednesday morning. 

Nomazwe chairperson Simphiwe Mayekiso said he was alerted by residents about a pile of disposed items while he was still at work on Wednesday.

He added that he then contacted other community leaders to report the issue and ensure collective engagement.

"We can tell that they have been used because they are dirty and have coloured stains. You can also smell blood when you get closer to the area, which was not the case before the items were dumped there," said Mayekiso.

He continued: "We are not certain which hospital the items came from, but there are no nearby hospitals that would make use of these items around here."

Mayekiso added that the dumped items were located at the corner of Lingelethu Primary School, which is a major concern for residents, as many schoolchildren live in the community and walk past the area on their way to school.

Community member Nomakhwezi Manikivana said she was deeply worried about the impact the dumped items may have on children and other residents.

"Those items are only used once by people in hospitals because they are easily contaminated and can carry a lot of bacteria. When they are dumped in our community, and the wind blows them around, it puts us at risk of disease. We don’t know what illnesses the patients who wore them had," she said.

Manikivana added that there were four bags filled with what she identified as used scrubs, patients’ nightdresses, dirty blankets, and bedding throws.

"It is really a health hazard, and we are concerned as community members," she said.

Manikivana further stated that when she returned home late on Thursday morning, she noticed that a concerned community member had resorted to burning some of the medical items out of fear of the lingering risk of disease caused by the improperly dumped items.

In response to a media enquiry, the Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness (WCDHW) said it sent a team to the address provided to conduct an investigation.

"While our teams could not locate the linen at the time of the investigation, we can confirm that this did not contain any medical waste," said Samantha-lee Jacobs from the WCDHW. 

Jacobs also confirmed that the used hospital items did not originate from the Nyanga Community Day Centre, saying that "due to the nature of services offered at the local health centre, they could not have come from there".

"We are engaging our contractors to ascertain how this occurred and to prevent it from happening in the future," she added.

Although most of the waste is gone, Mayekiso said that there was still a need for cleaning and removal of remaining items.

He also stressed the importance of having signage in the area that prohibits people from dumping items there and has consequences for those who don't comply.

"It is not unusual for people to dump items in that corner. We do try to address this with community members, but unfortunately, it continues," he said.

lilita.gcwabe@inl.co.za