Control of medical waste
As a producer of medical waste from our clinical services. We have to abide by a duty of care for collection, destruction or incineration of our waste or sharps. You may notice throughout our buildings that we use the PHS group for most things, our hand dryers, soap dispensers as well as sanitary towel waste services are maintained, serviced or removed with our agreement with the PHS group.
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What are Statutory Duty of Care Regulations?
The Environmental Protection Act 1990 places a duty of care on businesses that deal with controlled waste – such as clinical waste. These regulations aim to guide the safe management of waste to protect the environment and human health. They apply to anyone who imports, produces, keeps, or disposes of controlled waste, including clinical waste.
Waste managers have a duty of care to ensure the waste they deal with doesn’t harm anyone or anything and is disposed of properly. It’s a legal requirement and the Waste Duty of Care Code of Practice provides guidelines of what to do to meet your legal duty of care obligations.
Businesses have a duty of care when dealing with controlled clinical waste
What is meant by the safe management of clinical waste?
Healthcare waste managers must follow the government legislation mentioned above and the Healthcare Technical Memorandum (HTM) 07-01 to ensure clinical waste is dealt with safely. As a medical provider we must correctly segregate and classify different types of healthcare waste to ensure it goes to the right place for storage and treatment. You should also also assess the results of the waste audit at regular intervals.
Clinical waste must be inspected at the waste facility to ensure the contents of the container match what was expected. Each type of clinical waste is coded to detail the type of waste and appropriate waste management method. In England, some waste is known as offensive hygiene waste and is sorted into yellow bags with a black stripe.
You need to provide justification if this waste will be used at an alternative treatment plant. For infectious healthcare waste, chemical or heat-based disinfection can be used as an alternative to incineration. However, this waste should not contain any chemicals, medicines, or anatomical waste.
Healthcare waste managers must follow government legislation and the Healthcare Technical Memorandum (HTM) 07-01
What are clinical waste guidelines to store, segregate, and handle clinical waste?
There are measures in place for the storage, segregation, and handling of healthcare and clinical waste. Firstly, we can’t store individual containers of waste cannot loose. Bagged waste must be stored in fully enclosed and leak-proof containers such as carts. Rigid waste containers should be in good condition, sealed and handled in an upright position.
Clinical waste should be located away from sensitive perimeters and watercourses for public safety. It must be placed in a security-protected area. Anatomical waste must be stored in refrigerated units unless they will be onsite for under 24 hours. Offensive waste must be stored in a secure building in secure bulk containers.
Clinical waste facilities should be operated in a way that minimises any waste handling. Overloading or puncturing waste should be avoided, and they should be stored according to the waste type and destination. It’s important that these clinical waste regulations are followed at all times, to protect the environment and human health.
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Medical waste within Taylor organisation ltd and FOOT CARE premises is controlled under a duty of care co-signed between the company and PHS group. Copies our our duty of care documentation are available on request by authorised parties.
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