A Study of Hospital Waste Management Practices at Two Tertiary Care Teaching Hospitals: What Are the Alternate Options in Hospitals of Developing Countries

Objective: To assess the biomedical waste management system in two major tertiary care hospitals and to look for the alternative measures which are costeffective and reliable. Study design: A comparative study Place and duration: The study was conducted at two tertiary care teaching hospitals of Rawalpindi and Islamabad city from 27 th April 2014 to 16 th May 2014. Methodology: The data was collected through presentations given by hospital administration, direct interviews of hospital staff, questionnaires and direct observation methods. All wards, departments, and general areas of both hospitals were visited and methods of waste segregation, storage at ward or department level, internal transportation, dumping sites, external transportation, and on-site and off-site disposal were studied in detail. Special emphasis was given to seeing the method of waste storage Results: Both hospitals have no waste management committees, written protocols or SOPs for waste management. Both hospitals have no effective system in operation to handle and treat the infected or hazardous waste before disposal or transportation to final site. Neither hospital has its own incinerator or any alternative method of waste treatment at local level. The waste was transported for incineration twice a week but no record or SOP of this activity was maintained by both institutions. Conclusion: Disposal of biomedical waste is not practiced properly even in tertiary care hospitals in urban setup from site of generation to final disposal.