A disposal company working for the U.K.’s National Health Service that stockpiled hundreds of tons of human body parts and dangerous waste has lost its contracts with the government.
Health Minister Stephen Barclay told the British parliament today that Healthcare Environment Services Ltd (HES) “failed to demonstrate that they were operating within their contractual limits. Consequently, 15 NHS Trusts served termination notices to HES formally to terminate their contracts at 4 p.m. on Sunday.”
Barclay said “the waste was stored securely” but “it was not being processed and disposed of within the correct regulatory timescales. At no point has there been an impact on public health or any delay to the ability of the NHS to carry out operations.”
He added that another company, Mitie, would be taking over the contracts and “NHS services continue to operate as normal.”
Earlier this month, the Health Service Journal revealed that amputated limbs, infectious liquids and dangerous waste linked to cancer treatment were sent to HES by the National Health Service, but were not disposed of because of a lack of incineration capacity.
The Health Service Journal reported that HES’s site in Normanton, northern England, had excess waste levels of 350 metric tons in September, five times higher than the 70-ton limit.
According to the report, the U.K. government’s Environment Agency served 13 warning notices and two “compliance notices” on HES for not disposing of the waste within the desired timeframe.
