Medical waste disposal Broward remains a great concern, especially for the environment and public health and, as a result much of this waste is classified as either biohazardous or infectious and is capable of spreading infectious diseases.
If a hospital is true in its intention to prevent infection, then proper medical waste disposal has to be at the top of its “to-do” list. However, unfortunately, this is very often either regarded as not significant enough, often coming after those activities that generate money for the hospital, or even completely neglected.
In this short article, you will learn about the risk that may (and often do) come with improper medical waste disposal. We will also touch upon the subject of proper medical waste management techniques.
First of all, whose responsibility is medical waste management? The answer: everybody’s. Everyone in the health care facility from the janitor to the upper management is responsible to make sure that the waste their hospital or clinic generate does not infect or injury anyone or harm the environment.
Medical Waste Disposal Advantages
There are a number of reasons why a health care facility should properly handle and dispose of its biohazardous and other infectious waste. The advantages of proper medical waste disposal are:
1. It reduced the chance of contaminating the ground water and soil with dangerous microorganisms and toxic chemicals.
2. Properly disposed of medical waste does not attract animals and insects, or at least it attracts far fewer of them than improperly disposed medical waste.
3. There are less odors emanating from hospital waste.
4. The spread of infection to medical staff, employees, patients and visitors is significantly lowered.
5. The chance of injury to patients, personnel, visitors and the general public is reduced.
Who’s at Risk From Medical Waste?
Those whose job is to handle contaminated waste are always at some level of risk from it. This type of waste holds its dangers from the moment it is generated, while it is segregated, packaged, transported and even when it reaches its final destination – the medical waste management plant, where it will be incinerated or destroyed in some other way.
Unfortunately, many are not aware of the risks that medical waste poses. It is, therefore, imperative to educate, train and supervise employees who handle medical waste..
Here is who faces the greatest danger when it comes to medical waste, by the likelihood of getting infected or injured physically:
1. Workers. Whether housekeeping staff or medical staff, employees at a health care facility are at constant danger from infectious waste. The biggest threat lies with sharps, as these can transmit such diseases as HIV and Hepatitis C.
2. Patients. If the hospital employees have not adequately carried out medical waste disposal, the infection can easily attack the patient.
3. General public. Finally, improper medical waste can also harm the community and its members. Albeit the chance of infection diminishes the further the medical waste is from its source, this is still something that has to be regarded very carefully.
As you can see, proper medical waste disposal Broward is very important when it comes to keeping the health care employees, patients and the community safe from infections and injuries.
