HOSPITAL WASTE MANAGEMENT
TERTIARY CARE HOSPITALS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.29309/TPMJ/2016.23.07.1642Keywords:
Hospital waste management, Hepatitis B, Tetanus, SOP’sAbstract
Objectives: To evaluate the knowledge and practices of hospital administration
regarding hospital waste management at Tertiary Care Hospitals of Karachi. Study Design:
Cross sectional study. Period: June 2014 to December 2014. Methods: Study was conducted
in fifteen tertiary care hospitals. Five government, eight private and two trust hospitals were
selected by quota sampling technique. Information was collected from selected hospital
waste management staff, using a pretested questionnaire regarding knowledge and practices
of hospital waste disposal. Results: Data shows that only 33.3% had knowledge regarding
infectious and noninfectious waste disposal and 27% of the understudy hospitals were
separate infectious and noninfectious waste. Only 20% of the total hospitals were using proper
method for the separation of the sharps.93.3% hospital waste management staff was not
vaccinated against hepatitis ‘B’ and tetanus. Only 53.3% hospitals have their own incinerator
facilities. Conclusions: This study showed that the practices employed by the hospital waste
management staff were not safe. There is a need to implement the recommended SOP’s of
hospital waste management program.
