Sandema: Mr Richard Assam, a Public Health Nurse at the Sandema Hospital in the Builsa North Municipality, has called on managements of healthcare facilities to prioritise proper waste disposal and good sanitation practices to enhance public health and safety. He said the improper segregation and disposal of hospital waste was a major problem in some healthcare facilities in the country, as such acts posed danger to public health and safety.
According to Ghana News Agency, Mr Assam, an award-winning Senior Nursing Officer (SNO), highlighted that some healthcare facilities do not have incinerators, which are essential for proper healthcare waste management. Without incinerators, hospital waste is often improperly disposed of. Mr Assam was speaking to the Ghana News Agency in an interview to draw attention to the critical need for proper hospital waste and sanitation management across the country.
The SNO, who has an interest in infection prevention and control, and healthcare waste segregation, pointed out that about 70 to 85 per cent of the waste generated in healthcare facilities was non-hazardous or domestic waste, while the remaining 15 per cent was infectious waste. He noted the non-adherence to standard protocols in healthcare waste management often leads to mixing hazardous and non-hazardous waste, which can exacerbate health risks.
He explained that the Ghana Health Service (GHS) protocol requires healthcare facilities to have four-colour-coded waste bins for segregation: black for general waste, red for contaminated plastic waste, brown for pharmaceutical waste, and yellow for highly infectious waste. However, many hospitals lack these systems, and even where segregation is attempted, it often fails during waste collection, posing risks to scavengers and the community.
Mr Assam also expressed concern about the unhygienic state of lavatories in public healthcare facilities, stressing the importance of cleanliness to maintain patients' dignity and prevent hospital-acquired infections. He noted that despite existing waste management policies by the Ministry of Health, their implementation by the GHS remains a challenge, urging management to focus on improving waste and sanitation practices.
