Medical Waste Management:

Field observation in Dhaka City and adjacent Suburban Area

Abstract

This paper discussed about the patterns of medical waste management on the basis of field observation in public and private hospitals, diagnostic centre and pharmacy. It is a vital issue to dispose the medical waste created by the healthcare providers. The local government and its stakeholders are also responsible for it. Considering the activities of the healthcare providers, this paper explored the real field situation in the institutions in Dhaka City and adjacent suburban areas. It is found that the healthcare provider institutions consider the disposal system and its urgency with significant importance. In many cases, they have logistics, manpower and supervision to manage the wastes but in many cases, it is observed that their limitations are also significant. Lack of systematic direction, supervision and manpower, wastes are creating huge problem for those institutions as well as municipal garbage collectors and mass population groups. Since; medical waste disposal is crucial for the sake of health concerns of the city dwellers, the reality creates a hazardous and troublesome condition because of its mismanagement, inadequate manpower, awareness and lack of systematic pattern of waste disposal. The responding institutes were found conscious but practices are not representing the optimum level of understanding.