Evaluation of Medical Waste Management at Bolu Abant Izzet Baysal Medical Faculty Hospital

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The management of medical waste is one of the important tasks of health care facilities. A proper waste separation at the source of medical waste is also important to avoid potential health risks, such as reducing unnecessary waste burden. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the medical waste management at Bolu Abant Izzet Baysal University medical school hospital. METHODS: This research is a descriptive type observational study conducted in November-December 2017. The study was carried out in the medical unit producing medical waste of Bolu Abant Izzet Baysal University medical school hospital in 74 units, on the way of medical waste transportation and in the hospital's temporary medical waste depot. A face-to-face interview was held with an institution manager and personnel collecting / carrying medical waste. In this study, questions and observation forms developed by Coker and Caglayan were used. RESULTS: The hospital's medical waste volume was 143,222 kg in 2016, but in the first 11 months of 2017 it was 164,291 kg. Hazardous waste amounted to 6605 kg the first 8 months of 2017, compared to it amounted to 7859 kg in 2016. The amount of medical waste per bed and day is 1.23 kg / day in 2016 and 1.54 kg / day in 2017. The amount of medical waste per in-patient in 2017 is 9.45 kg, the amount of medical waste per out-patient is 0.46 kg and the amount of medical waste per operation is 11.70 kg. In the observations, medical waste box was found in 72 units and 41.7% of medical waste bins were found to be non-medical waste materials. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: In the hospital where the study was conducted, it is seen that the total amount of medical waste increased in 2017 compared to 2016. The most important application to reduce waste generation is the reduction method at its source, providing training to employees on this subject, separating the material in the source and separating the recyclable materials, managing the inventory of the materials in the institutions, reducing the use of unnecessary disposable materials.