The
Association and The Institute of Wastes Management (to which
SMDSA are affiliated) have been particularly active in the healthcare waste
field recently.
In
June 2000, ‘Healthcare Waste
Management and Minimisation’ was published on behalf of The IWM
Healthcare Waste Management and Minimisation Working Group, which includes
representation from the Association. This
new guidance document draws together developments and viewpoints to formulate
a best practice guidance document, and signposts to other relevant work. The
Working Group has wider representation than previous documents, and reflects
the greater practical and technical expertise of its members.
To develop further, the it has now been constituted into the Steering
Group for an IWM Special Interest Group (SIG) on healthcare wastes. This
provides opportunities for interested parties to share their knowledge on an
ongoing basis through special meetings.
In
October 2000, with an SMDSA speaker talking on definitions, guidance and
relevant legislation, the Institute offered its first two day course on ‘The
Management of Healthcare Wastes’, which was widely attended, leading to two
further courses during 2001, to which SMDSA continued to provide speakers and
support.
Attended
by representatives of several SMDSA members, IWM jointly with NHS, Environment
Agency, Department of Health and other organisations hosted ‘The
Healthcare Prevention & Minimisation Conference’ in March 2001. This
focussed on the above document, and featured the recently published ‘Healthcare Waste Minimisation – Compendium of Good Practice’
(NHS Estates). The Environment
Agency also previewed their forthcoming guidance since published in draft for
comment, and other reports on clinical waste they are to publish.
SMDSA
was significantly involved in the IWM Workshops on ‘Healthcare Waste in The Community’ in October 2001 providing
both speaker and chairman in Shrewsbury and two speakers at Edinburgh
SMDSA members have contributed a series of
articles to the Institute’s Journal ‘Wastes
Management’; In the March special feature, reviewing the development of clinical waste guidance to date and
looking to expectations for the future. A
further contribution has been provided as feature for the Dec 2001 issue
providing a further update on the use of rigid containers for carriage of
clinical wastes, following a continuing flood of enquiries on the subject.
Healthcare Waste Management
and Minimisation’ (IWM Business Services Ltd) is available at £15 from IWM
Business Services Ltd, 9 Saxon Court, St Peters Gardens, Northampton, NN1 1SX
(Telephone: 01604 620426,
e-mail: iwm@iwm.co.uk)
Details of Management of
Healthcare Wastes IWM training courses are available from the same address.
