Healthcare Waste Report - Environment Health

A further extension of the measurements is
establishing Key Performance Indicators
which help healthcare facilities define and
measure progress toward its goals. Displaying
these Key Performance Indicators in
prominent places within the healthcare facility
premises will serve as an additional motivation
to staff and provide a clear picture of how
they contribute to overall improvement.
Reviewing metrics and using them to guide
decisions is extremely important. With proper
metrics in place, it is easy to analyze which
strategies are working and which are not.
When region-wide metrics are established,
then feasibility of technologies can be easily
analyzed without much risk. For example, the
viability of a particular technology to treat
healthcare waste can be studied, and the
results shared among others in the region, thus
reducing the risks associated with the
investments in new technologies.
When a Healthcare Waste
Management System could Fail?
Healthcare waste is, definitely a subject
requiring understanding of the intricacies,
especially of the components of the waste. A
high degree of judgment is required while
segregating the waste. More importantly, it has
to be informed-judgment. Barring the doctors
and nurses, almost all healthcare facility staff
are under-educated to make an informedjudgment
while segregating and handling the
waste. Their ignorance cannot be allowed to
render the whole stream infectious. This can
be classified into Deficiency of Knowledge
and Deficiency of Execution (Jones and
Martin, 2004).
CHAPTER 5_RECOMMENDATIONS
In simple terms, Deficiency of Knowledge
means not knowing what to do and Deficiency
of Execution means not being able to do the
way it has to be done. A typical example
would be where a staff has to segregate the
waste based on its infectious nature. Not
knowing what criteria to use to make this
judgment is Deficiency of Knowledge. Not
being able to segregate, knowing very well the
criteria is Deficiency of Execution.
In both cases training is required to overcome
the deficiency. Some of the causes of
deficiencies of execution include task
interference, lack of feedback (employee does
not know when the job is being performed
correctly or incorrectly), and lack of awareness
on the gravity of consequences.
The approach or the method of training may
differ, however. Deficiencies of Knowledge
can be corrected by training the employee to
do the job, then observing and correcting as
necessary until the task is proficiently
performed. Deficiency of Execution is usually
corrected by searching for the underlying
cause of lack of performance, not by teaching
the actual task. Some basic training that
healthcare facility staff should undergo, in the
context of waste management is:
Knowledge Training about different waste
streams, their infectiousness, and the
intensity of consequences if not correctly
handled etc
Skills Training on procedures to be
followed to prevent injuries to self and
others while handling infectious healthcare
waste, emergency response in case of spills,
occupational health and safety etc
Attitude Guidance on approaching noninfectious
waste as a resource for recycling,
team working with counterparts in
organizing recycling schemes within the
facility
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