Collecting Healthcare Waste: Health and Safety Issues

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Collecting Healthcare Waste Health and Safety
Issues

• Judith Reilly, HM Inspector, HSE, Policy Group
  (Health and Social Care Services Unit)
• www.hse.gov.uk/healthservices

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Just how bad was it?
RIDDOR Accidents per 100,000 workers 2001/2
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Areas of health and safety risk

• Musculo skeletal disorders
• Slips, trips and falls
• Workplace transport
• Infection control

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Musculo-skeletal injury What can be done?

• Hierarchy of control (MSD risk)
• Eliminate task
• Mechanise
• Mitigate/ design
• Train
• Wheelie bins before boxes/ bags

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Slips and trips what can be done

• Footwear
• Cab access/ egress
• Shortcuts/ rushing
• See where you put your feet
• Reporting pavement problems

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Workplace Transport

• Struck by vehicles
• Working in the highway
• Reversing aids

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Reversing aids
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Colour Coding Key to Segregation
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Segregation of waste

• Healthcare Waste
• Infectious hazardous yellow or orange
• Offensive / hygiene non hazardous tiger
  strips
• Non-healthcare waste
• Similar to healthcare waste from municipal sources

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Transport of Clinical waste in the Community

• From domestic premises produced by healthcare
  worker
• Healthcare worker transports it back to base for
  collection
• Collected from the domestic property
• From domestic premises produced by homeowner
• Municipal waste, no requirements
• Self-medicating patients, diabetics

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Available guidance

• Waste Industry Safety and Health (WISH) guidance
• needlesticks,
• street collection,
• refuse vehicles bins and hoists,
• transport at waste and management recycling
  facilities
• Do we need a guidance note on healthcare waste???
  
• Blood Borne Viruses in the Workplace, INDG324.
• DH Safe Management of Healthcare Waste

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Any questions?