Medical Waste Management isn’t the first thing we think of in the medical profession, but it is a vital part of the medical world. In recent years, the amount of medical waste produced has increased drastically due to the Covid-19 pandemic for three reasons.
First, the hospitals and medical facilities have been fuller than ever before. We’ve all long ago got used to hearing that the hospitals were at breaking point and didn’t have the facilities to meet the demand for care. All these extra patients mean extra waste that needs to be disposed of. Secondly, the pandemic made the medical world reassess how much protection was available to medical professionals when dealing with highly contagious viruses.
“All staff working in medical facilities had to start wearing much more personal protective clothing, clothing that would need to be disposed of and then new clothing applied between every single patient. As you can imagine, this enormous increase in personal protective clothing has meant a huge rise in medical waste.”
All staff working in medical facilities had to start wearing much more personal protective clothing, clothing that would need to be disposed of and then new clothing applied between every single patient. As you can imagine, this enormous increase in personal protective clothing has meant a huge rise in medical waste. And thirdly, never before has the world seen such a big vaccination drive as with this worldwide pandemic. Billions of new vaccines have meant billions of sharps that need to be disposed of safely.
Unfortunately, a downside to this fast increase in medical waste has meant that it hasn’t always been disposed of correctly. In many countries there are laws in place to make sure this doesn’t happen. But as always, there are some who still refuse to follow legal guidelines.
And in some countries, no such laws as yet exist. Refusal to obey, or lack of, laws, has seen the unsafe disposal of medical waste in many places, sometimes even into necessary water supplies. Incorrect medical waste disposal has always been an issue but now more than ever, we need to ensure that this stops happening. It is a danger to the general public that doesn’t need to be there. It is also a danger to the environment.
So, what is the solution? We don’t have to panic or be overwhelmed by this problem. There are already things in place to stop this from happening – waste management companies. Waste management companies are aware of all the legal requirements in your area, as well as the safest possible way to dispose of the different types of medical waste you may have. They are trained and experienced and can take all the stress out of medical waste management for you.
