Hospital Waste Management means the management of waste produced by hospitals using such
techniques that will help to check the spread of diseases through it.The story so far:The management of waste poses to be a major problem in most of the countries, especially hospital waste. It is an ongoing problem for many countries. In recent years, medical waste disposal has posed even more difficulties with the appearance of disposable needles, syringes, and other similar items. Pakistan is also facing this problem. Around 250,000 tonnes of medical waste is annually produced from all sorts of health care facilities in the country. This type of waste has a bad affect on the environment by contaminating the land, air and water resources. According to a report, 15 tonnes of waste is produced daily in Punjab. The rate of generation is 1.8 kilograms per day per bed. The province houses 250 hospitals with a total capacity of 41,000 beds. Different Types
Hospital wastes are categorised according to their weight, density and constituents. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has classified medical waste into different categories. These are:Infectious: material-containing pathogens in sufficient concentrations or quantities that, if exposed, can cause diseases. This includes waste from surgery and autopsies on patients with infectious diseases;Sharps: disposable needles, syringes, saws, blades, broken glasses, nails or any other item that could cause a cut;Pathological: tissues, organs, body parts, human flesh, fetuses, blood and body fluids;Pharmaceuticals: drugs and chemicals that are returned from wards, spilled, outdated, contaminated, or are no longer required;Radioactive: solids, liquids and gaseous waste contaminated with radioactive substances used in diagnosis and treatment of diseases like toxic goiter; andOthers: waste from the offices, kitchens, rooms, including bed linen, utensils, paper, etc.Guidelines
There are Guidelines for Hospital Waste Management In Pakistan since 1998 prepared by the Environmental Health Unit, of the Ministry of Health, Government of Pakistan, giving detailed information and covering all aspects of safe hospital waste management in the country, including the risk associated with the waste, formation of a waste management team in hospitals, their responsibilities, plan, collection, segregation, transportation, storage, disposal methods, containers, and their color coding, waste minimisation techniques, protective clothing, etc.A project was implemented in January, 2000 in the biggest hospital in every province by the Ministry of Health in Islamabad, in collaboration with WHO.Improper disposal
Hospitals and public health care units are supposed to safeguard the health of the community. However, the waste produced by the medical care centers if disposed off improperly, can pose an even greater threat than the original diseases themselves.Pakistan is also facing such problems. There are no systematic approaches to medical waste disposal. Hospital wastes are simply mixed with the municipal waste in collecting bins at roadsides and disposed off similarly. Some waste is simply buried without any appropriate measure. The reality is that while all the equipment necessary to ensure the proper management of hospital waste probably exists, the main problem is that the staff fails to prepare and implement an effective disposable policy.In Lahore, like most of the cities in Pakistan, there are no proper measures taken for the management of hospital waste. The standard practice of hospital waste disposal is dumping it in the M.C.L. container wherever situated.Disposable syringes and needles are also not disposed off properly. Some patients, who routinely use syringes at home, do not know how to dispose them off properly. They just throw them in a dustbin or other similar places, because they think that these practices are inexpensive, safe, and easy solution to dispose off a potentially dangerous waste item.How does hospital waste affect us?
If hospital waste is not managed properly it proves to be harmful to the environment. It not only poses a threat to the employees working in the hospital, but also to the people surrounding that area.Infectious waste can cause diseases like Hepatitis A & B, AIDS, Typhoid, Boils, etc.A common practice in Pakistan is the reuse of disposable syringes. People pick up used syringes from the hospital waste and sell them. Many drug addicts also reuse the syringes that can cause AIDS and other dangerous and contagious diseases. If a syringe, previously used by an AIDS patient, is reused, it can affect the person using it. So, the hospital staff should dispose off the syringes properly, by cutting the needles of the syringes with the help of a cutter, so that the needle ca not be reused.When waste containing plastics are burnt, Dioxin is produced, which can cause Cancer, birth defects, decreased psychomotor ability, hearing defects, cognitive defects and behavioral alternations in infants.Flies also sit on the uncovered piles of rotting garbage. This promotes mechanical transmissions of fatal diseases like Diarrhea, Dysentery, Typhoid, Hepatitis and Cholera. Under moist conditions, mosquitoes transmit many types of infections, like Malaria and Yellow fever. Similarly, dogs, cats and rats also transmit a variety of diseases, including Plague and Flea born fever, as they mostly live in and around the refuse
