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The Gauteng Department of Health (GDoH) is investigating circumstance that led to medical waste items being illegally disposed of at a field around Ormonde, South of Johannesburg.

The department has further reported this incident to the City of Joburg’s environmental health section to further process the matter in line with applicable legislation.

GDoH was informed of the illegal disposal late on Saturday (11 November) afternoon after members of a local community watch structure who were patrolling the area stumbled across the waste material which seems to consist of used syringes and what looks like medical files.

At this stage it is not clear where the waste material comes from and where it was heading to. However, the department has a track and trace system for the disposal of medical waste or files in its facilities and has contracted accredited service providers to manage this process on its behalf.

Part to the investigations will be to establish if indeed the material was from any of our institutions and who was handling it so that appropriate measures can be taken to hold those responsible accountable.

The department has since assigned a service provider to assess the waste material to determine what it is and to remove it for proper disposal.

Issued by Gauteng Health