The storage of medical waste is often regarded as a trivial matter with no technical content by some medical institutions. Without enough attention, there will naturally be various problems, the most common is the problem of mixed medical waste, which may lead to the spread of pathogenic microorganisms, cause disease infection, and pose a threat to public health. To this end, the health administration department has been strengthening supervision, and today we will take a look at several different cases of mixed medical waste.
Source: Zhengzhou CDC Observation
Editor: Lingxing
Cover source: pixabay
01|Medical waste mixed with construction waste
13 bags of used surgical gowns, medical quilts, pillows and other fabrics in the hospital were mixed with construction waste; Domestic garbage is mixed with used medical plastic catheters and disposable medical non-woven fabrics; In the northeast corner of the hospital, plastic pipes and blue non-woven fabric were mixed in the household garbage (during the outbreak of the new crown epidemic). In the end, the hospital was given a warning and fined 9,900 yuan.
02|Tie the mouth of the household garbage bag with an infusion tube
In the room where the hospital stored uncontaminated infusion bottles (bags), there were woven bags tied with disposable infusion tubes, the reason was that "when I went to the department to collect infusion bottles and infusion bags, the nylon straw rope used to tie the mouth ran out, so I pulled a few infusion tubes for ......" Although in this case, the woven bags contained uncontaminated infusion bottles (bags), disposable infusion tubes belonged to medical waste, and uncontaminated infusion bottles and infusion bags were domestic waste. In domestic waste, as long as a medical waste is mixed, this pile belongs to medical waste. The removed infusion tubes and needles shall be disposed of in strict accordance with medical waste, and it is strictly forbidden to mix with uncontaminated infusion bottles (bags) and other household waste.
03|The infusion needle is not separated from the infusion bag
Four infusion needles in a health room were not separated from the infusion bag and were mixed in a temporary storage box for infectious medical waste. After investigation and verification, the medical institution set up special containers to prevent leakage and sharp penetration, but in actual operation, the infusion needles and infusion bags were not separated and mixed in the temporary storage box of infectious medical waste, and there was an illegal act of not placing medical waste in special packaging or containers according to categories. The local health commission ordered the medical institution to make immediate corrections, and gave an administrative penalty of a warning and a fine of 2,000 yuan.
04|Mixed treatment of injurious medical waste and infectious medical waste
A medical institution mixed injurious medical waste such as injection needles, infusion tube needles, and used glass ampoules, as well as infectious medical wastes such as injection needles, infusion tubes, and cotton swabs, into a medical waste bag. After investigation and verification, the medical institution had the illegal act of mixing and collecting injurious medical waste and infectious medical waste in a medical waste bag, and failing to separate the medical waste into special packaging or containers according to the category. The local health commission ordered the medical institution to make immediate corrections, and gave an administrative penalty of a warning and a fine of 1,000 yuan.
05|Medical waste mixed with household waste
On March 21, 2023, the Tianjin Binhai New Area Health and Family Planning Comprehensive Supervision Institute supervised and inspected Clinic A and found that a trash can with black plastic bags in the treatment room of the clinic contained multiple pill boxes and used ampoules and cotton swabs. The clinic's behavior of mixing medical waste with domestic garbage violated the provisions of Article 14, Paragraph 2 of the Regulations on the Management of Medical Waste, and the law enforcement officers ordered the clinic to immediately correct the illegal act and filed a case against the clinic.
06|Other situations that will be punished except for mixed release
Article 46 of the Regulations on the Management of Medical Waste stipulates that if medical and health institutions and centralized medical waste disposal units violate the provisions of these Regulations in any of the following circumstances, the administrative departments of health or environmental protection of the local people's governments at or above the county level shall order corrections within a time limit in accordance with their respective duties, give warnings, and may impose a fine of less than 5,000 yuan; If the correction is not made within the time limit, a fine of not less than 5,000 yuan but not more than 30,000 yuan shall be imposed:
(1) Storage facilities or equipment do not meet environmental protection and health requirements;
(B) not according to the category of medical waste in special packaging or containers;
(C) not using a special vehicle that meets the standards to transport medical waste or using a vehicle to transport medical waste to transport other items;
(4) Failure to install on-line monitoring devices for pollutant discharge, or monitoring devices that are not always in a normal operating state.
✅ The following wastes are not considered medical waste
Such as: infusion bottles (bags) used in non-communicable disease areas or not used for patients with infectious diseases, suspected infectious disease patients and other patients taking isolation measures, empty containers containing disinfectants and dialysates, disposable medical packaging, discarded Chinese herbal medicines and residues after decoction of Chinese herbal medicines, medicine cups containing drugs, urine cups, disposable hygiene products such as paper towels, wet wipes, diapers, sanitary napkins, nursing pads, medical fabrics, and urinals after use. Disposable masks discarded in residents' daily lives. (From the attached table of the "Medical Waste Classification Management Catalogue (2021 Edition)]
According to the list of responsibilities for the prevention and control of infectious diseases in medical institutions issued by the state, early detection, early reporting and early disposal are required! How can this be done? It is important to standardize the disposal of medical waste. Medical institutions should store and dispose of medical waste in strict accordance with regulations, give full play to the role of "sentinel points" in the prevention and control of infectious diseases, and contribute to the construction of a healthy China!
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Source of this article: Zhengzhou CDC Observation
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