Environmental audit of small hospitals: a case study at the Aninwaah Medical Centre, Emena-Kumasi
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Date
November, 2016
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Abstract
The management of medical waste is of importance due to its infectious and hazardous
nature that can cause risks on the environment and public health. The study was
conducted to evaluate the medical waste management practices, to determine the amount
of waste generated and to prepare an Environmental Action Plan (EAP) for the
Aninwaah Medical Center, Emena, Kumasi. The survey was conducted at the Aninwaah
Medical Center since its waste management practices were not so clear to some staff. To
examine the medical waste management practices, the study employed a range of
methods including questionnaires survey which targeted 100 randomly selected health
care workers and ancillary staff, formal interviews with facility managers, field
observations and literature reviews. Compliance with EPA-Ghana guidelines and other
recommended used as standards to assess the hospital waste management practices. The
waste management practices were analysed for a week to capture the daily management
practices. It was observed that medical waste generation rate at the Aninwaah Medical
Centre ranged from 0.126-0.157kg/patient/day. About 95% of the waste generated was
general/non-infectious waste and sharps. The audit also revealed that segregation
procedures the wastes generated were not constantly followed. The hospital workers are
not given the proper training and insufficient protection. It was revealed that there are no
laws in Ghana on how medical wastes are managed. In view of that, hospitals are not
obliged to strictly follow any laws or procedure in the management of medical waste.
Description
A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Master of Science Degree in Environmental Resources Management.