Tamil Nadu - Dindigul   

Plan for colour code in hospital waste disposal

DINDIGUL: Disposal of hospital waste is to be carried out in a sophisticated and scientific manner as the Department of Health Services plans to introduce a series of measures and impart training to medical and para-medical staff in the district under Tamil Nadu Health Systems Project.

To begin with, the waste will be collected at source in five colour bins. Three red bins will be given to collect hazardous waste. Red colour twin-bin with disinfection facility will be used to collect IV tubes, syringes and catheters. Another 25-litre red bin will be used for placing plastic waste and 15 litre red bin for non-plastic waste.

Ampoules, vials, broken glasses and suture slides will be placed in blue bins. The yellow bin is for dumping anatomical wastes, placentra, tissues and body parts, black bins for expired drugs and cytotoxic drugs and green bin or food items, plastic covers, needle covers and non-infected Plaster of Paris, according to T. Jayabal, Joint Director of Health Services (in-charge).

These waste will be kept in health care storage room in the hospital and transported to a common treatment facility.

All these measures will be recorded for verification. Four bio-medical management registers for daily collection of bio-medical waste at source, source-wise collection of bio-waste for the day, monthly consolidation register for collection of bio-waste and register for needle stick injuries would be maintained, he added.

Special training would be given to medical and paramedical staff on how to act in unusual situations such as handling blood bags and blood and mercury spills and on usual precautions. Nurses and para medical staff would be taught the essential practices. Sanitary workers would be tutored on collection of waste as per colour code, said A. Asai Thambi, Coordinator, TNHS.

Proper segregation of waste would reduce chances of spreading infection. These measures would come into force at Government hospitals from Tuesday.

Healthcare institutions in India use approximately 80 crore injections a year and 60 per cent of it is infectious. Only 15 per cent of total waste generated in hospitals is bio-medical waste, of which 10 per cent is infectious and five per cent hazardous and 85 per cent of general category. Each bed generates half to 2 kg of waste.

This colour code project has been successfully implemented in Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri districts as a pilot scheme.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Plan for colour code in hospital waste disposal

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu