Study of biomedical waste management practices in a private hospital and evaluation of the benefits after implementing remedial measures for the same.

A study has been carried out to ascertain, whether biomedical Waste generated in private hospitals being segregated and managed properly? The study was carried out in a private tertiary care 620 bedded hospital located in an urban area in Delhi, India to assess the awareness and attitude of the hospital staff, to document the ongoing practices, enlisting the deficiencies, to identify the root causes and to suggest remedial measures for proper biomedical waste management and assess the benefits of implementing them. A process flow chart was made of the existing waste system of the hospital. An anonymous questionnaire survey was conducted to determine the awareness about the policies and practices. A training programme was organised and a manual for waste management was made and distributed in the hospital. The quantum of waste generated per day in the hospital was 610 kg with 150 kg being biomedical waste. It was observed that although the waste generated was being disinfected properly before disposal the hospital staff was not segregating the waste properly, with delays in lifting of waste compounded with improper disposal. The hospital has its own incinerator but it was underutilized. After the remedial measures including training and distribution of manuals, an improvement was found in the segregation process resulting in decrease in amount of infectious waste load to 50%. The survey shows that no appropriate strategy exists and there is an urgent need to increase awareness about rules, regulations and procedures regarding this vital issue.