National Norms and Standards relating to Environmental Health

c) Health care facilities should have access to a constant, safe and adequate water supply. If on-sitestorage facilities are available, storage capacity should be enough for 24hrs.d) Water supply to health care facilities should be adequate to accommodate other uses, e.g. domesticuses, personal hygiene and fire fighting in case of emergencies.e) Water storage facilities e.g. reservoirs and tanks must be adequately protected from contamination.f) EHPs should monitor continuously the water in reservoirs and tanks for compliance and possiblepollution activities. The water in the storage facilities must be tested for compliance and fitness fromconsumption.g) Water source e.g. borehole, must be effectively protected against contamination.h) If non-compliance is identified when testing of the water, the EHP should then trace the problem backto the possible source of contamination. The possible source of contamination must then bemonitored as part of a risk management approach to ensure effectiveness of interventions.i) To prevent organisms that grow in temperatures between 25 0 C and 50 0 C e.g Ligionella spp hot watertemperatures especially in health facilities, must be kept above 50 0 C and cold water below 20 0 C.j) The water supply system that includes the sources (if applicable), pumps, purification plant, taps,pipes, storage facilities and the distribution network linked to health facilities should be maintained ingood working order.k) Taps and pipes containing water not fit for human consumption must be marked as such.l) The necessary chemicals should continuously be available for water purification, where purification isundertaken by the hospital.m) Designated hospital staff should perform regular monitoring of the water system in the hospital. EHPsmust perform similar monitoring investigations and carry out regular quality and compliancemonitoring.n) Records of hospital water quality monitoring should be kept.3.2 Toilet and ablution facilitiesa) Adequate toilet and wash up facilities must be provided in for patients and staff on the premises. Atleast 1(one) toilet must be provided for every 15(twelve) patients, and 1 (one) hand wash basin, and 1(one) bath or shower must be provided for every 15 (twelve patients).b) Adequate toilet and wash up facilities must be provided for staff on the premises.c) The premises of a health facility must be kept clean and all facilities maintained in good order at alltimes.d) Floors of toilet facilities must be constructed of a smooth and easily cleanable material.e) Walls must be of a smooth finish and painted with a light coloured, washable paint or tiled.3.3 Waste managementApproved methods of waste collection, storage, transportation and disposal must be adopted.A facility waste management plan and a waste management policy must be developed andimplemented.Approved methods of waste collection, storage, transportation and disposal must be adopted andmust be in line with SANS 10248.A waste management officer must be designated for each facility, responsible for only themanagement of waste (general and health care risk waste)a) The collection, storage and disposal of general waste, must be managed in accordance with therequirements as specified in Part U of the National Building Regulations and Section 2-5 of the Normsand Standards for Waste Management;b) An approved refuse area must be provided on the premises for the storage of all refuse pendingremoval;c) Access to waste storage facility must be limited to employees who have been trained with respect tothe operation of a waste facility;d) An adequate number of refuse bins must be provided for the storage of general waste on thepremises; ande) Measures must be taken to prevent access of the public or unauthorized personnel to health care riskcontainers.DOH. Norms and standards for environmental health in South Africa Feb 2013 49