Thursday, March 10, 2011

PH SLACKING IN MERCURY PHASE-OUT

Manila – Envi-health group, Health Care Without Harm-Southeast Asia (HCWH-SEA), today questions the Philippine government for slacking in the mercury phase-out implementation in health care. “Of the 1,851 hospitals in the country, we only have more than 600 mercury-free or going mercury-free hospitals,” said Faye Ferrer, HCWH-SEA Program Officer for Mercury in Health Care. “Contrary to Department of Health (DoH) Administrative Order 21 target of 100% phase-out by September 2010.”

According to Ferrer, before the issuance of AO 21 mandating the gradual phase-out of mercury-containing devices in all Philippine health care facilities and institutions, there were more than 60 hospitals who opted to switch to mercury alternatives. Among these are Philippine Heart Center, General Santos Doctor’s Hospital, Manila Adventist Hospital and San Juan De Dios Hospital.

In a survey conducted by HCWH-SEA, more than 600 hospitals have phased-out mercury thermometers and BP apparatus in their facilities. “While 600+ was a good number in 2010, this is not the case anymore six months after the September 2010 deadline for mercury phase-out,” said Ferrer. “The question on mercury importation ban remains unanswered despite countless appeal to the DoH.”

“We give credit to concerned stakeholders who have worked in this phase-out,” said Ferrer. “Private corporations like mercury-free alternatives distributors have helped in campaigning for mercury-free health care,” said Ferrer citing one health care retail outlet who made a nationwide mercury campaign last year.

“We likewise have artists like Albert Martinez, Judah Paolo and Suzi Abrera who are openly speaking about the dangers of mercury to people’s health and the environment. PhilHealth on the other hand, has included in its Benchbook compliance to AO 21,” she added.

“But we need more concrete actions,” said Ferrer. “While the DoH is no longer giving permits to medical devices distributor to sell mercury thermometers, it does not restrict entry of mercury devices in the country thus they are still widely available in the market.”

“The issue of storage for phased-out mercury devices is still hanging and the 2009 General Appropriations Act 13.2 M allocation for purchase of non-mercurial devices remains unreleased,” Ferrer pointed out.

“We call all hospitals to move with the phase-out. The deadline has expired and our health system is not even close to 50% mercury-free.”

“Based on the regional conferences conducted by HCWH-SEA in 2010, several health facilities run by the local government units are unaware of AO 21,” said Ferrer citing one hospital who purchased mercury thermometers at the last quarter of 2010.

In December 2010, the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) issued Memo 2010-140 enjoining all provincial governors, city mayors, municipal mayors, DILG regional directors and other concerned to ensure compliance to DoH-AO 21.

“This was issued 3 months after expiration date of AO 21. It shows the government’s lack of interest on the phase-out of mercury.”

During the 2010 Presidential election when HCWH-SEA started a signature drive called the Green Health Covenant among health care workers and Presidential aspirants. P-Noy did not sign the Covenant but sent a letter saying the dangers of mercury and other substances harmful to the health and the environment and how to address them will definitely be a priority under the health and environment agenda of his administration.

“We do not see this happening. Not with more than a thousand more hospitals still playing with fire every time they use mercury thermometer or BP apparatus in their facilities.,”

Contact
Sonia G. Astudillo, Communications Officer, +63 918 9182369, sonia@hcwh.org
Faye Ferrer, Program Officer for Mercury in Health Care, +63 920 9327151, faye@hcwh.org


HCWH-SEA will hold the Asia Regional Conference on Mercury-Free Health Care on March 15 (8:30 AM to 6:30 PM) at the Gateway Suites, Gateway Mall, Cubao to tackle the global initiatives to phase-out mercury devices in health care, as well as the mercury phase-out initiatives in Asia and the Philippines. On March 16 (8:15 to 11:15 AM), there will be a panel discussion on Dental Amalgam and its Alternatives and Greening the Health Sector discussing environmental issues like climate change & health care, substituting chemicals in health care, Green & Clean Program in Thailand hospitals, sustainable health care waste management in Philippine hospitals and developing small scale autoclaves for healthcare waste in Tanzania.



HCWH is an international coalition with over 483 member organizations in 53 countries, working to transform the health care sector worldwide, without compromising patient safety or care, so that it is ecologically sustainable and no longer a source of harm to public health and the environment. For more information on HCWH-SEA, see www.noharm.org.ph.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

PH ARTISTS UNITE FOR MERCURY PHASE-OUT IN HEALTH CARE

Manila – Following best actress Natalie Portman’s call to the USA Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to limit mercury pollution, several Philippine artists today speak out on the dangers of mercury and call for its phase-out in the health care sector. The ad dubbed Artists unite for mercury phase-out in health care done by envi-health group, Health Care Without Harm-Southeast Asia (HCWH-SEA), is simultaneously released in other Asian countries.

The campaign aims to phase-out mercury in health care and ultimately pushes for importation ban on mercury-containing thermometers and sphygmomanometers.

“Knowing the dangers of mercury to people and the environment, we are calling all health care facilities in the Philippines and around Asia to switch to safer alternatives to mercury devices,” said actor/director Albert Martinez.

The Philippine artists unite and call on other Asian artists to support or to become part of the artists unite for mercury phase-out in health care movement. The group is using social network to reach out to artists around the Asian region.

“We know the power that celebrities, artists and known personalities have in influencing people’s opinion,” said Faye Ferrer, HCWH-SEA Program Officer for Mercury in Health Care. “Thus we are grateful for these artists who have enlisted their support for mercury phase-out.”

Mercury spills in hospitals, clinics and laboratories expose doctors, nurses and other health care workers and patients to mercury. At low exposure, it may cause tremors, emotional changes, insomnia, neuromuscular changes, headaches, disturbances in sensations, changes in nerve responses and performance deficits on tests of cognitive function. At higher exposure it may cause kidney defects, respiratory failure and even death.

Among the artists featured in the ad are celebrity mom Suzi Abrera, TV & events host Judah Paolo, actor/director Albert Martinez, Survivor Philippines Palau Shaun Rodriguez, tattoo artist Gene Testa, WLS FM DJ Papa Dudut and visual artist Kabunyan De Guia.

“Random check at health care stores and we see that viable alternatives are widely available in the market. On the outside, the alternatives look more expensive but taking into consideration the clean-up cost in cases of mercury spills, the alternatives are way cheaper,” said Abrera who first got involved in the campaign when she hosted a mercury-free caravan with HCWH-SEA and mercury-free alternatives distributors.

“When we visit a hospital, the last thing we want is to expose our family to toxic chemicals like mercury,” said Judah Paolo. “With safe, accurate and affordable alternatives, we wonder why some health care facilities are not yet making the switch to alternatives.”

At room temperature, significant amounts of liquid elemental mercury transform to a gas. If discarded as a waste, mercury will eventually make its way into the environment where organisms living in rivers, lakes or moist earth transform it into highly toxic organic mercury.

According to Ferrer, mercury spill are not contained in one area. “A gram of mercury, this is the amount present in one mercury thermometer, may contaminate 80,940 square meters of lake or 192 basketball courts,” said Ferrer. “And there is no final disposal for mercury.”

A case in point is the Minamata disease brought by reckless dumping of heavy metals including methyl mercury from a factory to the water sources around Minamata, Japan. This claimed countless lives and the effects spanning to more than 50 years.

“We do not need to look that far to see the effects of mercury poisoning,” said Martinez citing an incident in a school in Paranaque where about 20 children had to be hospitalized and chelated after playing with a beaker of elemental mercury. “To date, one boy still suffers from advanced stage of Parkinsonism. We do not want this to happen again, not in our family, not among our friends, not anywhere.”

Parkinsonism refers to symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. It is a neurological syndrome characterized by tremor, hypokinesia, rigidity and postural instability.

In 2008, the Philippine Department of Health signed Administrative Order 21 mandating the gradual phase-out of mercury-containing devices in all Philippine health care facilities and institutions by 2010. Unfortunately, to date there are only more than 600 mercury-free hospitals in the country.

There are several movements in other Asian countries. Recently, in India, the mercury phase-out guidelines issued to all Central Government hospitals have resulted in the guideline being included in the Indian Public Health Standard for all 30 to 500 bedded hospitals. The Central Pollution Control Board has also framed draft guidelines entitle Environmentally Sound Management of Mercury Waste in Health Care Facilities, emphasizing the collection and storage of mercury from discarded devices.

In Indonesia, the Ministries of Environment and Health hosted a Mercury Roundtable to identify potential partners to promote a mercury-free health care sector. In Thailand, the Ministry of Public Health is implementing GREEN & CLEAN Hospital in 12 regional Health Promotion Hospitals. These hospitals will pilot mercury-free health care. In Nepal, 3 hospitals have piloted a mercury-free health care.

“Mercury phase-out in Philippine health care is one big step,” said Ferrer. “But we need more than this. Thus we are appealing to all health care facilities around Asia to shun away from mercury use in health care. And we are likewise appealing to individuals, to artists whose words are known to draw support from a lot of people to call on your respective government to support the phase-out of mercury in health care.”

Attached is a copy of Artists unite for mercury phase-out in health care or visit http://www.noharm.org/lib/downloads/mercury/Artists_unite_for_mercury_phaseout_in_healthcare_ad.pdf

HCWH-SEA will hold the Asia Regional Conference on Mercury-Free Health Care on March 15 (8:30 AM to 6:30 PM) at the Gateway Suites, Gateway Mall, Cubao to tackle the global initiatives to phase-out mercury devices in health care, as well as the mercury phase-out initiatives in Asia and the Philippines. On March 16 (8:15 to 11:15 AM), there will be a panel discussion on Dental Amalgam & its Alternatives and Greening the Health Sector discussing environmental issues like climate change & health care, substituting chemicals in health care, GREEN & CLEAN Program in Thailand hospitals, sustainable health care waste management in Philippine hospitals and developing small scale autoclaves for healthcare waste in Tanzania.

Contact
Sonia G. Astudillo, Communications Officer, +63 918 9182369, sonia@hcwh.org
Faye Ferrer, Program Officer for Mercury in Health Care, +63 920 9327151, faye@hcwh.org


HCWH is an international coalition with over 483 member organizations in 53 countries, working to transform the health care sector worldwide, without compromising patient safety or care, so that it is ecologically sustainable and no longer a source of harm to public health and the environment. For more information on HCWH-SEA, see www.noharm.org.ph.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Asia Regional Conference on Mercury-free Health Care

The conference will be held in Manila, Philippines, March 15-16, 2011. It is being co-organized by HCWH, WHO and the UNDP GEF Global Healthcare Waste Project.


For more information, contact: faye@hcwh.org or mercuryfreehealthcare2011@gmail.com