Abstract
Medical waste management is of great importance due to its infectious and hazardous nature and its management is not fully understood. This study examined the medical waste management practices in two large hospitals (El Shifa and Al Aqsa hospitals) in Gaza strip. The study used face to face questionnaire, workshops, interviews to managers and field observations for data collection. Results showed that both hospitals did not quantify medical wastes but medical wastes were separated in each department. Field observation indicated that medical waste separation into infectious medical waste and non-infectious medical waste was not conducted according to WHO (World Health Organization) standards or any specific standards. Medical wastes were transported from each department to waste container inside the hospital then moved to the storage area or municipal container. Medical waste employees (n = 51; 66.2%) revealed that medical wastes are stored temporarily in the hospital in a not suitable place in terms of ventilation, lighting and easy access. Furthermore, occupational safety among employees was not fully implemented, as large percentage of them (n = 48, 94.1%) revealed that the used protective clothes during work were not fully effective. Furthermore, incineration was the main treatment of infectious medical waste whereas, non-infectious wastes were disposed in landfills. Additionally, both hospitals did not provide any training for employees regarding medical waste management. In conclusion, medical waste management is far below WHO standards in both hospitals. It is recommended to provide training courses to the employees to improve the quality of environmental health and reduce health hazards in the hospitals.
Highlights
Medical waste management is an important issue in the hospital to maintain the quality of health and reduce hazards to the employees, patients and visitors
This study examined the medical waste management practices in two large hospitals (El Shifa and Al Aqsa hospitals) in Gaza strip
Incineration was the main treatment of infectious medical waste whereas, non-infectious wastes were disposed in landfills
Summary
Medical waste management is an important issue in the hospital to maintain the quality of health and reduce hazards to the employees, patients and visitors. Hospitals are crowded with employees, and visitors who may produce large fractions of waste that may increase the problem of medical waste management and pose threats to public health and environment [1]. Management of medical waste is a curtail issue to reduce hazards. Medical waste was not a priority in Palestine [4], and it was manually managed [5]. Medical waste management was conducted in Egypt [6], in Tehran [7], in Jordan [3], in Palestine [4] and other countries. The authors revealed different results probably due to different population in each country
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