Used urine mugs on sale near Madurai GH

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Follow us:WhatsappFacebookTwitterTelegram.cls-1{fill:#4d4d4d;}.cls-2{fill:#fff;}Google NewsReuse of syringes disposed of by hospitals is not something unheard of.But strangely, shops on the pavement adjacent to the Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH) here are allegedly selling plastic mugs used for collecting urine from patients, after refurbishing them.Relatives of patients at the GRH use these plastic mugs to collect urine from the patients during treatment. After the patients are discharged, their attendants dispose of these mugs at the dumping yard near the hospital mortuary, said a rag-picker who earns `500 a day by selling plastic, medical wastes disposed of at GH.“We earn `50 by selling used mugs alone. One kg of plastic mugs costs `25, which has more demand in the scrap market compared to other plastic materials such as used syringes, plastic bottles and tubes,” said a group of rag pickers who were spotted segregating the wastes at the dump yard.After segregating the plastic mugs from the other wastes, they sell these mugs to scrap merchants at Karimedu and Alwarpuram.These scrap merchants immediately wash the mugs to remove the stains and smell. The pavement shopkeepers near the GH, would then approach these merchants and buy these mugs for `5, but sell them to patient attendants for `15.“Patients and their attendents will be in a depressed state of mind and won’t examine the product before buying,” the source added.The shopkeepers cash in on this situation. Though a few GRH employees were aware of this, they are not bothered to inform their higher-ups, the source added.When Express contacted Government Rajaji Hospital Dean Dr N Mohan, he said that the mugs were normally crushed before being disposed of at the dump yard.first published:August 13, 2012, 07:51 ISTlast updated:August 13, 2012, 07:51 IST
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Reuse of syringes disposed of by hospitals is not something unheard of.

But strangely, shops on the pavement adjacent to the Government Rajaji Hospital (GRH) here are allegedly selling plastic mugs used for collecting urine from patients, after refurbishing them.

Relatives of patients at the GRH use these plastic mugs to collect urine from the patients during treatment. After the patients are discharged, their attendants dispose of these mugs at the dumping yard near the hospital mortuary, said a rag-picker who earns `500 a day by selling plastic, medical wastes disposed of at GH.

“We earn `50 by selling used mugs alone. One kg of plastic mugs costs `25, which has more demand in the scrap market compared to other plastic materials such as used syringes, plastic bottles and tubes,” said a group of rag pickers who were spotted segregating the wastes at the dump yard.

After segregating the plastic mugs from the other wastes, they sell these mugs to scrap merchants at Karimedu and Alwarpuram.

These scrap merchants immediately wash the mugs to remove the stains and smell. The pavement shopkeepers near the GH, would then approach these merchants and buy these mugs for `5, but sell them to patient attendants for `15.

“Patients and their attendents will be in a depressed state of mind and won’t examine the product before buying,” the source added.The shopkeepers cash in on this situation. Though a few GRH employees were aware of this, they are not bothered to inform their higher-ups, the source added.

When Express contacted Government Rajaji Hospital Dean Dr N Mohan, he said that the mugs were normally crushed before being disposed of at the dump yard.