Bio-medical waste mangement –a review of practices adopted by hospitals in Pune city

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Review Article

Author Details : Suruchi Pandey, Brig. Rajiv Divekar, Shiva Gupta

Volume : 3, Issue : 2, Year : 2016

Article Page : 110-120

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Abstract

The present paper is a review of practices adopted by hospitals in Pune with respect to the bio-medical waste management norms. The study was undertaken to check whether the bio-medical waste management rules are being followed or not in hospitals, Clinics and diagnostic centers in Pune.
This paper is an interesting insight on the awareness level of health organizations about waste management rules. Pune municipality has been strictly following provisions of bio-medical waste management. The research done for this paper clearly reveals that there is a lot of ignorance by hospitals, clinics with regards to waste management and the other important issue is that there is a lot of a cost involved in treating the waste.
The data has been collected from 10 health institutions like big hospitals, small hospitals, clinics etc.regarding their habits of treating the waste.  And the results reveal that there is an urgent requirement of training for the staff of the hospitals as 50% (Primary sources) of staff is not clear about the standard waste management practices. Therefore, PMC should consider this issue and make sure that standard bio-medical waste management practices are being followed in all the hospitals/clinics of Pune.
The present paper also attempts to provide a solution followed by recommendations based on its observation. It demonstrates some good practices adopted by some of the hospitals under the study. The main purpose of this paper is to spread awareness about the rules (colour coding, handling of waste etc.) of handling of biomedical waste in hospitals which can be followed if a little care is taken by each hospital staff in separating the waste at starting level itself. Mainly highlighting the harmful effects of biomedical waste to the environment if not disposed of properly.
This paper also highlights the health hazards to the people handling this waste in the like laundry workers, nurses, medical personnel and other employees of the hospitals.

Keywords: Bio-Medical Waste Management, Hospitals, Best practices

How to cite : Pandey S, Divekar B R, Gupta S, Bio-medical waste mangement –a review of practices adopted by hospitals in Pune city. Indian J Forensic Community Med 2016;3(2):110-120

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