Nursing Infections

As per the 1998 Rules, waste generated from healthcare facilities needs to be segregated at source into infected and non-infected components. Data suggests that Jharkand has just one common biomedical waste treatment facility that caters to 455 of the 906 registered health care facilities in the state. Only 14 health care facilities treat their waste in-house.
Ignorance is one of the main reasons behind the poor management of biomedical waste. An alarming 90% of the staff nurses in the 19 hospitals visited are not aware of the 1998 Rules-almost two decades after they have been implemented. It comes as a little surprise that except a medical superintendent at Patliputra Medical College Hospital, Dhanbad, staff in the other hospitals have never heard of the 2016 Rules. Healthcare staff in most hospitals are not even aware of the colour coding practice meant for biomedical waste segregation.
Not surprisingly, officials in 17 of the 19 hospitals are not even aware of the country’s long-standing commitment to phase out the use of mercury by 2020…. Close to 90% of the hospitals in Jharkand are disposing mercury-contaminated waste along with regular waste and do not own a mercury spill cleanup kit.
The extent of the knowledge gap can be gauged from the fact that just three hospitals in Ranchi have regular training modules on waste management for nurses, ward boys, waste handlers and paramedic staff. There are no similar training programmes for doctors.
Source: ‘Biomedical Waste Management & Handling Practices in Jharkand’ by Centre for Science and Environment in January 2017.

So much can be gained by informing staff on this issue….CMEPEDIA would love to improve awareness on biomedical waste mangagement in Jharkand and in general….