Every time I go to the hospital, I will see garbage cans of different colors in the corridor of the hospital. Even the treatment car pushed by the nurse has special small storage cans. The reason why there are garbage cans of different colors and styles in the hospital is to collect different types of hospital garbage.
Hospital waste, professionally called medical waste, refers to the waste generated by hospitals, clinics and other medical institutions for treatment, such as syringes, needles, cotton swabs, gauze, medicine bottles, infusion bags, gloves, urine cups, various catheters, various dressings and things used by infectious patients, etc.
Therefore, everyone will also worry that some of so much [dangerous] garbage is bloody! How does the hospital handle it? Will you be infected with diseases? Everyone’s worry is not without reason, but in order to protect everyone’s health, the hospital is very cautious in handling hospital garbage.
If not handled properly, will you become infected with diseases?
The number of viruses and germs carried by medical waste is tens, hundreds or even thousands of times that of ordinary waste. They can directly enter our bodies through breathing, skin cuts, etc. to infect diseases and endanger health.
For example, some garbage with patients’ blood, body fluids and secretions may carry a large number of bacteria and viruses. Improper handling of needles and surgical blades for injection and infusion is easy to scratch the human body and cause infection. If hospital garbage flows into the society, some unscrupulous merchants will crush infusion bottles, infusion tubes, etc. into tableware, milk tea cups, toys, etc. through machines, endangering our health.
Thinking carefully is extremely frightening.
Therefore, it is very important to standardize the treatment of hospital garbage.
How does the hospital dispose of hospital garbage?
In any medical institution, the generation of hospital garbage is inevitable, but in order to protect the health of everyone who comes to the hospital, the hospital will strictly dispose of the garbage.
1. Classify and collect hospital waste in strict accordance with regulations.
Each clinic is equipped with covered domestic garbage cans and medical garbage cans, and the colors of garbage bags in the garbage cans are also different. Black garbage bags are placed in the domestic garbage cans to collect domestic garbage, such as paper towels, paper cups, etc. Yellow garbage bags are placed in the medical garbage can to collect medical garbage, such as masks, hats, gloves, tongue depressors, etc. If anyone casually throws medical garbage into the domestic garbage can, hum, wait to be scolded by the nurse’s sister!
There are disposable sharp instrument boxes in the treatment room, laboratory and each treatment vehicle, that is, the small yellow box in the following figure, which is specially used to put needles, blood syringes, glass ampoules and other articles that are easy to scratch others.
Infusion sets, infusion bags and syringes are separated from other medical wastes.
2. The garbage collection staff shall be equipped with masks, hats, rubber gloves, rubber shoes and other protective equipment.
3. All medical wastes have special storage points. The door is always closed. There are obvious signs on the door. Non-relevant personnel are not allowed to enter.
4. There are companies specially responsible for cleaning that come to the hospital regularly to collect garbage.
Medical waste shall be managed by special personnel, and it is clearly stipulated that it is forbidden for staff to transfer or buy or sell medical waste without permission. Before transfer, medical waste bags shall be tied tightly at the mouth of the bag with [gooseneck knot], and sharp boxes shall be closed, and shall be put into a special transfer box after being affixed with special marks and seals.
All medical wastes are registered for transportation, and the staff of the hospital and the staff of the cleaning company jointly check, hand over and sign. Records are checked every month to ensure that there are no accidents such as loss of garbage during transportation.
If you or your family come to the hospital, should you pay attention to what?
1. Used paper cups, paper towels, food packaging bags, etc. should be thrown into black garbage bags;
2. Don’t touch the garbage in the yellow garbage bag;
3. When nurses or doctors draw blood, give injections and other surgical operations, please put away your curiosity and don’t get too close, otherwise you may be punctured or scratched!
What should I do if I am accidentally pricked or cut my skin by a bloody needle?
If you are stuck, you must tell the nurse in time and they will deal with it accordingly.
First of all, gently squeeze the wound from the proximal end (the end near the heart) to the distal end (the end far from the heart), and then clean the pricked skin with hand sanitizer and flowing water. After washing the wound at the injured part, disinfect it with 75% alcohol or 0.5% iodophor, and bandage the wound according to the situation.
Nurses will also decide whether to give preventive drugs according to whether the patients to whom sharp objects such as needles belong are infected with [four infectious diseases] (hepatitis B, AIDS, hepatitis C and syphilis).
In a word, when you go to the hospital, you should pay more attention to it. However, regular hospitals will deal with hospital garbage very strictly to protect everyone’s health from harm as much as possible. This is exactly what [Clove Clinic] has been doing. If you or your family need to see a doctor, you are welcome to come to the clinic to supervise our work at any time.