Quantitative Assessment of Medical Waste Management in Hamad Medical Corporation—Qatar

Abstract

A proper waste management system is very important in healthcare facilities because the overall benefit outweighs the cost. In the healthcare sector, hazardous health care waste (HHCW) consists of wastes that are potentially contaminated by dangerous agents. Identification and segregation of HHCW is harbinger for its proper management. The quantitative analysis study on HHCW had not been done in Qatar government hospitals. This study quantitatively analyzed the current practice for HHCW management in Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), Qatar. The objective of this study is to provide a first comprehensive assessment of hazardous healthcare waste managements in Qatar and offers an opportunity to improve existing practice. This is a retrospective survey study carried out on secondary data collected from the department of occupational health and safety (OHS), HMC. OHS department collects and keeps records of hazardous wastes produced by HMC. Data on the HMC hospitals’ characteristics from 2017 to 2019 were retrieved from Planning and Statistics Authority’s website. World Health Organization (WHO) formula for calculating HHCW generation rate was used to calculate the rate for HMC. Data analysis results show a steady increase in HHCW generation rate in HMC, the generation rate was 2.6 Kg/patient bed/day, 2.8 Kg/patient bed/day and 3.1 Kg/patient bed/day for the years 2017, 2018 and 2019 respectively. There were also significant variations in HHCW generation rates between hospitals. The highest generation rate was 4.64 Kg/patient bed/day recorded for AWH and the lowest was 0.2 Kg/patient bed/day recorded for mental health and both hospitals contributing 23.18% and 0.29% respectively of HHCW in HMC.