18th August, 2016 A Senior Lecturer in Environmental Management of Hazardous Materials from DEAKIN University, Australia Dr. Trevor Thorton is in Nuku’alofa to facilitate a workshop on medical waste in Vaiola Hospital.
Dr Thorton said the workshop aimed to raise awareness on how to handle clinical and medical waste from the Hospital.
“The workshop is to train staff, health officers, and public health officers on how to manage health care waste, and to improve it by looking at the system, the hazards, issues and implementing better waste management practices for managing healthcare waste,” he said.
Dr Thorton stated that participants would also learn about the ways to manage waste and the equipment needed to carry out such task.
“The other part of the workshop is to sort equipment required to be funded by SPREP, including incinerator and other equipment such as bins and gloves, with a whole range of equipment to make better for them to manage their waste.”
Chief Health Inspector from the Ministry of Health Ms Sela Fa’u said the workshop came effective when the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) donanted an incinerator (a machine to burn waste) to the ministry.
“An incinerator was given by SPREP to destroy healthcare waste, and this workshop will look at how to use the machine and its benefits,” she said.
Ms Fa’u said all medical wastes would be destroyed in the incinerator excluding office waste such papers and others.
“When burning the medical waste, only 5% of it will be left and that will be taken to Tapuhia.”
Ms Fa’u said an incinerator would be established soon in Vava’u, Ha’apai and ‘Eua.
According to Dr Thorton the proper managing of healthcare waste would help to protect the public, health staff and patients from the risk of being infected by any disease.
““It will going to make it safer. You are not going to have a waste going out to the landfill or been to dispose of, so patient that are coming to the hospital will be safe. It will prevent damage to the environment as well as the hospital staff and to the community.”
Dr. Thorton would be visiting three other health centres in Tongatapu this week.
The healthcare waste includes infectious waste such as biological and pathological waste, chemical waste such as laboratory reagents, solvents and solutions, sharps such as syringes/needles, infusion sets, scalpels and blades and pharmaceutical products that are expired, unused or unwanted.
ENDS
Issued by the: Ministry of Meteorology, Energy, Information, Disaster Management, Environment, Climate Change and Communications
