Sheffield woman furious as ‘hazardous medical waste’ left outside her home for almost a WEEK

A Sheffield woman has criticised the city council for failing to clear up ‘hazardous’ medical waste from outside her home for nearly a week.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Retired nurse Patricia Cuddihy, who is a council tenant in the Graves Trust Homes on Greenhill Avenue, Meadowhead, said disposable gloves, aprons and dressings discarded outside the properties were left for nearly a week despite repeatedly reporting the waste to the council.

Read More
Takeaways in Sheffield are the ‘worst offenders for not following coronavirus ru...

The 65-year-old said she suspects the medical waste may have been discarded by people visiting elderly tenants.

Medical waste has been discarded ion  Greenhill Avenue, MeadowheadMedical waste has been discarded ion  Greenhill Avenue, Meadowhead
Medical waste has been discarded ion Greenhill Avenue, Meadowhead
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

She contacted the council to remove the items last Tuesday because of fears over the spread of coronavirus during the pandemic.

But Ms Cuddihy said she waited nearly a week for the medical waste to be removed, with council employees finally sent to clear it away yesterday.

She said that despite being assured the issue would be prioritised as ‘urgent’, she had to repeatedly call to check when it would be removed and was passed ‘from pillar to post’ as she attempted to report the issue.

Ms Cuddihy said: “Their response to me as a caring resident and tenant has been completely unacceptable.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Some of the tenants here are very elderly and housebound. Some of them receive health care assistance.

“From the beginning of last week the main connecting pathway was strewn with used clinical rubber gloves, clinical plastic aprons and even a dressing.

“As a retired SRN I find this totally disgusting and unacceptable, particularly in the middle of a pandemic.”

She added: “I contacted the council last Tuesday to arrange clearance of this potentially contaminated waste and was assured it would be prioritised as urgent and would be cleared ASAP, but it took nearly a week after being repeatedly passed from pillar to post.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I care about my community and particularly where I live, and the friends and neighbours I know here. Many are over 90 with serious medical conditions.

“I hope that if anything good can come from this it is that the council puts procedures in place to deal with this kind of waste during the pandemic as nobody seemed to know whose responsibility it was.”

Sheffield Council said officers were in contact with Ms Cuddihy about the issue

Thank you to all who support local journalism with a digital or print subscription to The Star. The events of 2020 mean trusted, local journalism is more reliant than ever on your support. We couldn't do it without you. Subscribe here www.thestar.co.uk/subscriptions so we can keep campaigning on your behalf. Stay safe.

Related topics:

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.