FEARS festering incontinence pads will pose a health hazard following cuts in bin collections have triggered urgent high level talks.

A summit is planned to decide whether they should be classed as "clinical waste" following complaints about the controversial introduction of fortnightly refuse collections in Wyre Forest.

Residents' concerns - backed by Wyre Forest MP Dr Richard Taylor - about the pads festering for two weeks have led to a debate between council bosses and health chiefs over who takes responsibility.

While head of Wyre Forest District Council's commercial services department Andrew Dickens said he had received about six complaints over fortnightly waste collections of incontinence pads, he insisted adult human waste was not the council's responsibility.

He said the gripes - backed by Stourport town councillors who asked the district council to review its policy - were part of a wider issue which needed to be addressed by the Wyre Forest Primary Care Trust.

Director of public health for the PCT Ray Duffell admitted the issue needed urgent attention with a three-pronged approach by the PCT, district council and Health Protection Agency.

"We will be meeting as soon as we can get dates in the diary and recognise this is an urgent issue to deal with," he said.

"Before the fortnightly refuse collection was put into place there were discussions around any potential health implications and there were none immediately apparent.

"But if we are now finding there are issues emerging we will deal with them appropriately."

The PCT's director of clinical services Sarah Dugan added: "It was agreed in a clinical waste agreement with Worcestershire County Council and environmental health that it would be acceptable to wrap incontinence products up and put them in black bin bags.

"But if people are generating a large amount then there is an agreement that they can put them in yellow clinical waste bags to be collected separately.

"If somebody has clearly got an infection we would use clinical waste bags but if they haven't it would depend on the volume - but the risk is generally recognised to be very low."

She added the current definition of a "large amount" of pads was filling a quarter of a bin bag a day.

The response was welcomed by Dr Taylor who wrote to the council after being contacted by full-time carer Christine Greenwood, whose daughter Lisa is incontinent.

He said: "I've told the council I think there is a case for trying to make a special arrangement.

"I've had an acknowledgement of the problem and recognition there is a potential problem - and I've asked them if there are potential health risks or if it is perfectly safe."

Mr Dickens admitted: "We need to get it sorted out and the sooner the better for all concerned.

"Obviously body fluid and human excrement can be contaminated and that's why we're questioning whether it should be classed as medical waste.

"There is an on-going debate between us and the health service about how this medical waste can be disposed of - we can't understand why some people are getting a special collection arranged by the health authority who treat it as medical waste and others aren't.

"So we've written to the PCT asking for a clarification of their policy."

But he added: "We can't make an exception in every case or we'd be running around every night with a private refuse collection - and that's not our role. Supposed medical waste is the responsibility of the health service."

He said he expected the meeting to be held this week.