Medical waste management practices in a Southern African hospital

Patience Aseweh Abor, Anton Bouwer

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

37 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine the medical waste management practices of a hospital in Southern Africa. Design/methodology/ approach - A case study methodology was utilised. Findings - The results revealed that the hospital does not quantify medical waste. Segregation of medical waste into infectious waste and non-infectious waste is not conducted according to definite rules and standards. Separation of medical waste and municipal waste is however practiced to a satisfactory extent. Wheeled trolleys are used for on-site transportation of waste. Off-site transportation of waste is outsourced to a private firm. Incineration is used in the final disposal of infectious waste. Non-infectious waste is disposed using land disposal method. There is no policy and plan in place for managing medical waste. A number of problems were identified with respect to medical waste management. Originality/value - The paper gives recommendations with the aim of improving medical waste management in hospitals.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)356-364
Number of pages9
JournalInternational Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance
Volume21
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2008
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Hospitals
  • Risk management
  • South Africa
  • Waste disposal

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