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Waste generated in hospitals is split into clinical waste and non-clinical waste. Clinical waste needs to be treated before disposal whilst non-clinical waste can be disposed of in the same way as regular domestic waste.
For gloves in recent years there has been a global promotion of hand hygiene by the World Health Organisation (WHO). However this has inadvertently led to healthcare workers over using gloves rather than performing hand hygiene as recommended.2
Hospital waste management is implemented to increase safety for both patients and staff. As it is important to reduce the risk of blood-borne pathogens, hospital acquired infections and likelihood of a sharps injury. However the environmental consideration has become increasingly important. Where NHS England is producing 156,000 tonnes of clinical waste annually which is then sent to high temperature incineration (HTI) or for alternative treatment (AT). Which has a significant environmental impact with such high carbon emissions.3
This has encouraged the NHS to set an ambitious target of a 50% reduction in carbon emissions from waste management at their sites by 2026.4 However this can only be achieved though collaborated efforts from suppliers, hospital green plans, strategic hospital purchasing and availability of products and technology that support this goal. The hospitals will need to begin implementing solutions such as:
To achieve these goals environmentally preferable purchasing becomes an important consideration between hospitals and suppliers. For example, Ansell has received the highest recyclability certification by Institut Cyclos-HTP (CHI), a globally recognised organisation that assess and certifies the recyclability of packaging and goods, confirming a AAA rating for the SMART Pack™ packaging for surgical gloves.5
Ansell has been at the forefront of sustainable packaging design since we launched this smaller and, more user-friendly surgical glove packaging. Including moving away from fossil-fuel based packaging materials to a combination of bio-based content and recycled materials since 2016.
Surgical-site infections (SSIs) are a preventable post-operative concern that put patients at a higher risk for delayed wound healing, complications, and even mortality.
Registered Nurses and all other Healthcare Professional's Courses can be taken by any healthcare or dental professional. An electronic certificate of competition will be provided once the course is passed with a minimum 85% score.
The CDC estimates that about 385,000 sharps-related injuries occur annually among healthcare workers (HCWs) in hospitals.
