Study of Clinical Waste Management at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH) in Bangladesh

The management of clinical waste is of great importance due to its infectious and hazardous nature that can cause risks on environment and public health. The study is conducted to evaluate clinical waste management practices and to determine the amount of waste generated at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH) in Bangladesh. A survey is driven to collect information about the practices related to waste segregation, collection procedures, type of temporary storage containers, on-site transport and primary dumping point, treatment of wastes, off-site transport, and final disposal options. This study indicates that the quantity of medical waste generated by RMCH is 156 kg/day. Almost half of the waste was similar to domestic waste and 20% of the waste is considered to be hazardous waste. The survey result shows that segregation of all wastes is not conducted according to consistent rules and standards where some quantity of medical waste is disposed of with domestic wastes. The most frequently used treatment method for solid medical waste is incineration which is not done regularly at RMCH and the position of the incinerator is not acceptable. Clinical wastes pose a significant impact on health and environment. From this study it can be said that there is an urgent need for raising awareness and education on medical waste issues. For further study, it is needed to collect more information on impacts, disposal and management to draw a clear conclusion. Need to collect information and examples from developed country or the country which has sound medical waste management system.