Rapid Courier, a global logistics company, has donated 1,080 biohazard waste bins to three health facilities and a non-governmental organisation (NGO) in Accra to help reduce hospital-acquired infections.

The donation, made as part of its corporate social responsibility, in collaboration with the Nyankufa Foundation in the Western Region, was aimed at improving healthcare waste management and promote safer and cleaner hospital environments for patients, health workers and visitors.

Biohazard bins are specialised, leak-proof containers used for safely disposing of waste contaminated with infectious materials, such as blood, bodily fluids, cultures, and used PPE, protecting people from pathogens, and ensuring regulatory compliance in health care, labs and research settings.

The health facilities were the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH), which received 350 bins, the Greater Accra Regional Hospital, which received 300 bins, the Adabraka Polyclinic, which received 250 bins, and the Africa Partners Medical, Ghana (APMG), which received 180 bins.

The Executive Partner, Rapid Courier, Adelaide Assan-Amoateng, said as part of its corporate social responsibility, Rapid Courier decided to donate the bins to the health facilities to help curb secondary infection, which patients and health workers themselves pick up in the hospital.

According to her, Rapid Courier had presence in the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States of America (USA) and makes deliveries to about 16 countries in Africa.

Hospital-related infections

The Director of Operations, Rapid Courier, Dinah Brandful, said the objective of the donation was to help reduce hospital-related infections and bring them to the barest minimum.

She said the company recognised the risks posed by secondary infections within the hospital settings and decided to support the health facilities with specialised biohazard bins to enhance infection prevention and control.

She explained that the bins were bought and cleared by the company from its own resources.

Korle Bu

Dr Harry Akoto, Deputy Director, Medical Affairs at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital who together with the Director of Nursing Services, KBTH, Aimee Akotey, received the bins, said the donation was timely because as a teaching hospital, “we really need this to work with”.

“And at the beginning of the year that it has come, we want to promise you that we are really going to make good use of these containers,” he said.

Mrs Akotey, for her part, also commended the Rapid Courier group for its support to the hospital.

She said the biohazard bins were very important because of the safety of staff and clients and gave an assurance that they will be distributed to all the wards and facilities within the hospital.

Good use

At the Adabraka Polyclinic, the Medical Superintendent, Dr Abdul Razak Quao, in a remark, thanked Rapid Courier for their support to the facility.

He said the bins would be very useful to the facility and therefore pledged to put them to good use.

The Medical Director, Greater Accra Regional Hospital, Dr Leslie Issa Adam-Zakaria, also expressed appreciation to Rapid Courier, saying the bins were compatible with the hospital's flooring and waste management systems, which would help reduce maintenance costs and make cleaning easier.

He called on other corporate bodies to support the facility, saying most often they have to support their patients financially when they come to seek health care.

At the Africa Partners Medical, Ghana, Charles Yaw Aheto-Tsegah, the Board Chair, commended the courier service for its gesture, saying the organisation works at developing the professional skills of medical staff.

He said the NGO’s objective was to make sure that “we minimise the needless debts in hospitals,” through training of medical staff.

He said the organisation will give the biohazard bins out to support the facilities that they work with.