24.01.19
Clinical waste scandal: HES collapse ‘put NHS at risk’ as waste backlog still being cleared
The Scottish health minister has told MSPs the collapse of the clinical waste firm behind the body part stockpiling scandal put Scotland’s health service at risk.
In a statement to parliament, Jeane Freeman said that the bags of clinical waste backed up at hospitals and GP surgeries are still being cleared, and revealed that the cost of the contingency plans after the clinical waste firm HES stopped trading was £1.4m.
The waste removal company was stripped of 15 NHS contracts in October after NHS Improvement revealed that hundreds of tonnes of hospital waste, including body parts, had been piled up at its facilities.
It was shut down by inspectors after the Environment Agency found it had breached its permits at five sites and dubbed its practice “unlawful,” and earlier this month it was revealed that toxic waste was still piled up at the company’s facilities.
Freeman admitted that implementing the contingency arrangements had seen clinical waste backed-up at some surgeries and hospitals, risking operating theatres turning patients away— but stated that there was no risk to the environment or local communities.
The health minister told MSPs that despite the Scottish NHS and health boards “acting quickly”, the situation had endangered services and cost £1.4m.
Freeman said: “Scotland’s health services were placed at risk as a result of HES breaching its contract.
“Contingency arrangements that were developed in anticipation of such an eventuality—in consultation with NSS, SEPA and a range of other partners—ensured that there was no disruption to front-line services.
“If there is a fiasco here at all it is not one of this government's making - any break in services was caused by a private sector company failing to honour its contract.”
Freeman said a new £10m contract to handle Scotland’s clinical waste would be handed out to a different company, but Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard urged to keep it in-house.
He said: “The Scottish Government should pause the process and look at the option of in-sourcing the service, to safeguard these jobs, and state of the art facilities in Scotland and ensure full public accountability and ownership in the future.”
HES ceased trading on 27 December and made all of its staff redundant, failing to pay them their December wages.