Robust waste management policies needed in hospitals to prevent accidents

Establishing robust waste management policies within the organization, creating an awareness about the health hazards, having sufficient financial and human resources, monitoring and control of waste disposal are some of the challenges before hospitals in the area of biomedical waste management, according to experts.

At a day long workshop on 'Biomedical waste in Indian Hospitals: Trends, Technologies and Challenges' organized By ICRI Health India highlighted that 85 per cent of the biomedical waste generated from hospitals is non-infectious. But the 10 per cent is highly infectious and the remaining five per cent is hazardous which is the cause for blood borne injury and exposure to sharps. 

This needs to be properly managed and with utmost care. Hospitals across the country need to segregate and adopt safe containment of waste at the health facility level. There should be processing and storage for terminal disposal. Bio-medical waste should not be mixed with other wastes. Segregation at the source, both at ward and unit level needs to be practiced, stated Dr Selwyn A Colaco, chief operating officer, Narayana Hrudayalaya Hospitals, Bangalore.