Clinical waste chaos; YourSay.

I READ with interest the article by Neil Elkes re. missed clinical waste collections (Birmingham Mail, August 19).

My mother has had need of the clinical waste collection service for the past three years after having a stroke which left her paralysed and doubly incontinent.

I am not surprised to read of problems with the collection service as we have experienced the same for some time.

After many telephone calls to the call centre to complain and with no satisfaction forthcoming, I contacted my local councillor Ken Wood (Longbridge) who was very helpful and three weeks of waste were collected.

I spoke to the operative who confirmed he had been on annual leave. Obviously no relief driver was in place.

Once again this year we have waited three weeks for a collection. I have again written to Councillor Woods who replied with apologies and a promise to raise the matter.

He was told a relief driver was in place, but when the regular operative has a Monday off (our collection day) no one calls to collect and the regular guy plays catch up the rest of the week.

This policy must save the council money and be soul-destroying for the regular operative who has to collect double for having a day off.

D J Porter, Rednal THANK you for raising the issue of the appalling council clinical waste collections.

For several weeks now the yellow bags, with syringes inside, have not been picked up from my doorstep. It has been a nightmare.

Every time I call to complain they say the driver is on holiday. He seems to have a lot of holidays. They have not grasped the idea of a relief driver doing the rounds instead.

I even told them I will have to put the clinical waste in the black bag if they do not collect it and the manager was OK with that.

I have lost all faith in them. I see the council has apologised to the woman in the story, so I will also be watching to see if they can get it right.

David Bennett, Bartley Green