Correct management and disposing in the proper manner of the non-clinical garbage(also commonly refer to medical waste) the health professional, as well as the public and patients to the risk of spreading of pathogens via blood, body fluids as well as healthcare medical equipment which is affect by contamination, as well instruments that are sharp or dirty.
In this presentation, you will be able identify the various kinds and types of wastes that can be in the health sector.
The presentation will also explain the various aspects of the management of waste as well as the disposal methods for the healthcare waste.
Being aware of the potential dangers to health that can be pose by inadvertent disposal of healthcare waste and ensuring proper removal of the medical waste will ensure that everyone is safe from the dangers from medical waste.
Healthcare Sources And Classification Waste
Healthcare waste can be describe as any waste produce from health-relate activities. It is also refer to as hospital waste as well as infectious waste.
The most important sources are hospitals, Health Posts, emergency medical services dispensaries, and healthcare centers for Obstetrics or Maternity clinics, outpatient clinics, etc.
Between 75% and 90% of the clinical waste that is produce in hospitals and healthcare facilities be class as general trash.
This includes dust from packaging materials and other similar. They can be remove in the same way as other wastes that aren’t dangerous, but only if it’s not affect by exposure to harmful materials.
You Can Classify Hazardous Medical Waste Into:
Infectious waste: It is possible that the waste contains pathogens. This is the case for dressings utilise or swabs or other equipment or products that have come into contact with patients sick or have excrement. It also includes liquid wastes, like urine, blood, faeces, and other bodily fluids.
Human bodies are the source of pathological materials like organs, placentas and foetuses. Anatomical waste is one group of pathological material that is compose of organs that are easy to identify.
Sharps: Sets of infusion, scalpels, needles blades, broken glass as well as broken glass.
Waste From Pharmaceuticals: “The term “pharmaceutical waste” is used to describe non-required or expired medications; items that are contaminated, or are containing drugs (bottles or containers).
Genotoxic Waste: are substances with the characteristics of the genotoxic (meaning they can be damaging to genes) which includes certain drugs as well as chemicals that are genotoxic.
Chemical Waste: Materials that are contaminated with chemicals, such as film developers, lab reagents and disinfectants that are either gone out of service or aren’t used anymore and solvents.
Waste that contains a large quantity of heavy metals for example, thermometers that are, batteries that have blood pressure gauges.
Containers Which Are Pressurised: Gas Cylinders Aerosol Cans.
Radioactive healthcare waste management contains radioactive substances from radiotherapy or research conduct in laboratories.
It is important to note that infectious and pathological wastes fall into two distinct types. For instance blood can be present in both categories.
Any medical waste that is not contaminate that is remove from the environment must be regard as potentially infect. As per the principle of precaution, the waste that is pathological should be treat and eliminate exactly as if infect.
Healthcare Is Essential For Public Health.
The types of waste that are dispose of in healthcare are diverse in nature and the volume generate is increasing each year. Additionally, if there’s not any separation of hazardous and non-hazardous wastes, it is possible that the entire waste will up being pollute and be classifie as dangerous.
Every single person in the community may be susceptible to exposure to the waste from healthcare, including those who work in hospitals and others who could be expose to the improper handling of waste.
Write down all people who be susceptible to contamination by the waste that is generate by the Village Health Post.
Dangers Of Infectious Waste
Infectious wastes can contain a variety of microbes and bacteria that can trigger illness. The entry point for microorganisms may be through an injury, cut or abrasion of the skin. The cause could be sharp objects that are contaminate with pathogens.
The route to the body could be through the mucous membranes (such as the eyes, mouth, or nose) by inhalation or consumption. There’s a concern with infections that is cause by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and the hepatitis virus (HBV) as well as C via medical waste.
They’re typically transmit by needlesticks infect by the blood of humans. Needlestick wounds are wounds that puncture often cause by the needle’s tip however, they can also be cause by other sharp objects.
To lower the risk of contracting HBV, it is recommend that all employees who handle medical waste bins be cover with a vaccine. There’s no vaccine that is currently available for the hepatitis virus C.
Control Of Hazardous Waste From Healthcare
The aim of the management of healthcare waste is to control infectious waste and limit the health risks to the public.
The steps needed to reach the goal are the reduction of waste separation and recycling, proper packaging storage, handling and handling, as well as the proper removal and recycling.
Waste Handling
There are a number of fundamental guidelines for managing waste. Every waste produced by health facilities must be separated and placed in bins for disposal with the assistance of the person who produces the waste and the location in which the safe management of healthcare waste is generated.
The separation of medical hazardous waste and the labelling needs must be explain to healthcare personnel and others. This information should be display on charts and place on the walls of each room.
Containers and carts which are recyclable that serve to transport medical waste must be clean after every use. Sanitary staff and clean-up crews must wear protective equipment whenever dealing with waste that is infectious like masks, face shields, gloves and boots which are durable as per the guidelines.
Waste Minimisation
In fact, reducing waste can be consider the first and primary goal to any successful waste control program.
The reduction of the amount of garbage generated will help save the environment by reducing the quantity of clinical waste bin collection that has being burned off or disposed of in burning incinerators.
To ensure that you’re reducing waste efficiently, it is essential to be aware that any equipment or items purchased will produce little or zero waste.
It is important to remember that reducing clinical waste bag shouldn’t be undertaken when it can be harmful to the patient’s care or creates an increased risk of causing health issues.
Separation Of Waste From Healthcare
The procedure involves segregating different kinds of medical waste bins for collection. The waste from healthcare is typically divide into colour waste bins or bags. This should be complete at the place of origin (when you can identify the source of waste produced).
Follow the steps to separate waste to ensure the diverse types and types of garbage are separate and manage in a secure and economical manner.
Health facilities must have color waste containers that have been specially design for each type of waste. The colour-coding system was create to offer quick, simple and easy (clear) recognition and the separation and classification of materials you use or are planning to treat.
Based on the type of the risk the risk, a distinct color code and type of container are identifie and following the following steps:
Black: all bins and bags containing waste from healthcare that are not harmful.
Yellow: All containers that contain any type of waste from the healthcare industry which is colour yellow like yellow sharps safety containers.
But, be aware those heavy metals, as well as other effluents must not burn (burned) at the end disposal sites. The Ethiopian Food, Medicine, Health Professionals Control and Regulatory Authority guidelines should be review on how to dispose from medical waste.These guidelines are available by contacting your supervisor or the District Health Office. Recycling of clinical waste bins materials of healthcare, like glassware, is feasible, but only after disinfection and washing.
