A Port Stephens mother of two diagnosed with Crohn's disease has slammed Port Stephens Council for the lack of maintenance and care taken at one of its sharps disposal bins located in a Raymond Terrace carpark.
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Rekell Sullivan, from Raymond Terrace, is required to give herself injections using a pen of the drug Humira as part of her treatment and labelled the bin "a disgrace" and "a slap in the face for all people wanting to safely dispose of their waste".
An aged care nurse, Ms Sullivan said that the state of the medical waste bin made her feel like "a drug user" and its location would be impossible to find due to a lack of visible signage for most people to find.
Hunter-New England Health would not comment on the health safety aspect, referring the Examiner's inquiries to the council, where a spokesperson said that the "council does maintenance on the bin as required and when reported".
"We were unaware that there was graffiti on it, however we will now have this looked at."
Ms Sullivan said that she was told by two pharmacies where to dispose of her sharps containers safely.
"When I looked for them in the carpark I was confused," she said.
"There are a lot of bins in that section of the carpark, the majority of them were padlocked, and at first I could not find the sharps disposal bin so I began looking for a council sign. There are also a lot of parking signs but again I could not find anything directing me to the disposal bin."
Frustrated and wanting to do the right thing, Ms Sullivan eventually returned to the chemist and asked if one of the staff could direct her to the sharps bin.
"I couldn't believe it when I first laid eyes on the bin, it was disgusting. It looked like an old charity clothing bin with graffiti all over it. It's a real slap in the face for all pen (needle) users, not just those with Crohn's but many people with diabetes and other diseases use needles which have to be disposed of in a safe way," she said.
"Something has to be done, not just for me but especially the elderly, who want to do the right thing and dispose of there sharps in a safe way."
The council spokesperson said that the bin been located in the area for a significant amount of time and was placed their due to the location of the chemist and what was previously a health community centre.
"The bins placed out next to it are only there for their service and are wheeled in and out. This is a standard design for sharps bins so that they can hold the 240 litre disposal bin inside. Placement of these bins needs to be on council land and in an area that is appropriate for a number of reasons.
"There are other sharp disposal locations in Raymond Terrace in amenities at Boomerang Park, Riverside Park and will be reinstated at Fitzgerald Bridge amenities, however these are single use disposal points. This bin is serviced weekly by a contractor who disposal of this medical waste appropriately."