Waste Management as a Healthcare Management Problem

Waste Management as a Healthcare Management Problem
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Waste Management as a Healthcare Management Problem
The largest part of wastes generated in healthcare establishments are mostly treated as normal municipal solid wastes, but HCW also comprises of a varying proportion of wastes that require special attention. The wastes comprise of sharp objects (e.g. needles, razors, and scalpels), pathological waste, other potentially infectious waste, pharmaceutical waste, biological waste, hazardous chemical waste, wastes from isolation wards and microbiological laboratories. These wastes are collectively referred to as “special healthcare waste”. Additional wastes streams generated by HCW include packaging equipments, reusable medical equipment, and secondary waste created through disposal technologies (Chitnis & Patil, 2000).
Improper management of healthcare waste is a hazard to people and the environment. It affects healthcare workers, patients, waste handlers, waste pickers, and the general public is exposed to health risks from contagious waste particularly the sharp objects, chemicals, and other special HCW. Improper disposal of special HCW is revealed in open dumping and uncontrolled burning, which leads to an increase in the risk of spreading infections and of exposure to poisonous emissions from partial combustion (Chitnis & Patil, 2000). Owing to these reasons, occupational health and safety should be a component of HCW management plans.
Transmission of disease generally occurs through injuries from contaminated sharp objects. In the healthcare sector alone, the estimates by the World Health Organization for unsafe injections has shown that it has caused approximately 30,000 new HIV infections, 8 million HBV infections, and 1.2 million HCV infections worldwide annually. Toxic risks also arise from reagents (particularly laboratory reagents), drugs, and mercury thermometers (Chitnis & Patil, 2000). Moreover, sensitivity is needed in the management of special HCW when dealing with biological waste (Chitnis & Patil, 2000). It is important to consider cultural factors in the waste disposal plans of special HCW; various cultures have specific views on the disp...