It is high time that all the hospitals in the country employed well trained professionals to manage biomedical and other hazardous waste generated from the hospitals, according to Guru Moorthy, director, MedSkills Learning.

As there are large number of hospitals and nursing homes mushrooming in every corner with huge quantum of biomedical waste generated from them, it is high time that the hospital managements across the country should have employed well trained professionals to manage biomedical wastes from them. At the same time, the government should also implement strict regulations to prevent environment pollution due to biomedical wastes.

Though the hospitals are rated for their quality standards based on three important criteria like good doctors, competent support staff and hygiene standards, the true test of a hospital’s hygiene standards can be judged only based on how it manages its biomedical waste, opined Guru Moorthy.

With growing concerns of the humungous waste generated in hospitals, effective waste management could become the differentiator in this sector. According to a recent report, every day about 904 tonnes of healthcare waste is produced by hospitals in India. Only about 15 per cent of this waste is infectious and as there is no proper segregation of this waste and not disposed properly it is accounting to an overall generation of 33,000 tonnes of healthcare waste annually.

Lack of waste management in hospitals is fraught with danger. Apart from the obvious infections it can cause, sharp objects in the waste could cause injuries to handlers. Disposed drugs and syringes could be repacked and wrongly used by unscrupulous agents.

The Ministry of Environment and Forests has set guidelines for healthcare establishments but very few implement a stringent waste management procedure.

To contain the snowballing of hazardous waste due to non segregation and improper disposal methods, the need of the hour is to employ well trained waste management professionals in the hospitals. The healthcare sector needs to sit up and notice the long term implications of bio-medical waste. There is an urgent need to have trained staff and that can execute an organisation’s waste management strategy. There is also a need to create awareness about the crucial role that the paramedical staff and plays in the medical ecosystem.

“There is a critical demand for skilled, trained and talented healthcare professionals. According to the Planning Commission, there is a shortage of over 40 lakh paramedical professionals in hospitals, nursing homes, pharma and other healthcare organisations,” said the Director.