Health Policy Issues and Health Programmes in ... - Amazon S3

Hospital Waste Managementbe without any puncture/leakage. The container should have a cover, preferably operated byfoot. If plastic liners are to be used, they have to be securely fitted within a container in such amanner that they stay in place during the opening and closing of the lid and can also beremoved without difficulty. The sharps must be mutilated by a needle cutter, which is placed inthe department/ward itself, before putting them in puncture-proof sharps containers. Attemptsshould be made to designate fixed places for each container so that it becomes a part of theregular scenario and practice for the concerned medical and nursing staff.CertificationAfter filling a bag or container two-thirds it is sealed. A tag, indicating the name of thedepartment, the type of waste, its contents/composition, the person responsible, date, shift, time,and so forth, has to be attached. A waterproof marker pen should be used for writing.Common/Intermediate Storage AreaThere needs to be a collection room/intermediate storage area where the waste packets/bagsare collected before they are finally taken. Transportation to the treatment/disposal site isnecessary for large hospitals having a number of departments, laboratories, OTs, and wards.This is all the more important when the waste is to be taken outside the premises. Arrangementfor separate receptacles in the storage area with prominent display of colour codes on the wallnearest to the receptacles has to be made. When waste-carrying carts/containers arrive at thisarea, they have to be systematically put in the relevant receptacle/designated area.Handling and TransportationHandling and transportation activities have three components — (1) collection of different kindsof waste inside the hospital, (2) transportation and intermediate storage of segregated wasteinside the premises, and (3) transportation of the waste to the treatment/disposal facility outsidethe premises (Table 2).A review of Table 2 shows that there is no single technology that can take care of all categories ofbiomedical waste. A judicious package has to be evolved for this purpose. For example, smalland medium hospitals can opt for local (in-house) disinfection, mutilation/shredding, anddedicated autoclaving plus off-site incineration at a common treatment/disposal facilityfollowed by disposal in sanitary and secured landfills.Treatment Technologies for Medical WasteTreatment technologies for medical waste require the following norms.llllllCompliance and performance testingMonitoring and recordingOperator training and qualificationsWaste management planningFacility inspectionsReporting and record keeping.208