SITUATION OF INFECTIOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES AMONG HEALTH CARE WORKERS WORKING AT TERTIARY HOSPITALS OF RAWALPINDI PAKISTAN

摘要

Hospital is the place where infectious healthcare waste is being generated due to the provision of medical care services to the patients. This infectious waste needs a special attention for their proper disposal. Improper infectious waste management has posed major environmental threats and is now being reported as a serious public health issue worldwide. Health Care Waste (HCW) is the second dangerous waste in the World that needs to be properly disposed by trained health care staff. Knowledge and safe practices of medical staff is very imperative while managing this waste. Approximately 1.35 kg/bed/day of waste is produced on average in the Pakistani hospitals which produce about 250000 tons of HCW per year. HCW comprises of 15-20% of general waste but due to improper segregation by hospital staff resulting in contamination of general waste that emerges of many infectious diseases and other environmental hazards if not disposed properly. General waste disposal mechanism in communities has not been of standards and is subject to many scavengers who collect items such as papers and cause spread of the many components of the trash within the surrounding atmosphere and risking the health of the communities. Hence, Hospitals which do not have comprehensive mechanism for waste disposal within their own system such as lack of incineration can lead to open dumping of human organ waste in the communities.