A Better Approach to Waste Training for Canadian Healthcare Professionals

Canadian healthcare providers know how to care for patients, but the waste this care produces might not be given the same priority as diagnoses and treatments. Healthcare professionals understand how essential continual training is for improved outcomes, and this includes more than just clinical knowledge. It’s also important for staff that interact with biomedical waste to receive training on how to safely handle and dispose of it. 

Although medical providers may be experts when it comes to providing quality health care, many are less aware of the finer points of medical waste handling and disposal. With awareness, however, will come greater understanding of the potential risks and compliance issues surrounding the disposal of regulated medical waste. Ultimately, the education and awareness of the challenges and solutions surrounding medical waste will lead to a safer environment for staff, patients, and your organization as a whole.

Biomedical waste encompasses a wide range of materials from bloody items to sharps and beyond. It’s crucial for all healthcare staff that interact with this waste to receive comprehensive training on efficient handling. But with how overwhelmed and understaffed facilities are, this can quickly get back burnered for more pressing issues. 

This is why Daniels Health offers education and training to each and every facility we partner with. Daniels is in the unique position of understanding both the niche aspects of clinical operations AND the complexities of waste management. By combining these areas of expertise, we offer healthcare facilities real world solutions that are practical for how staff work on a daily basis. Our approach is field-tested and staff-approved, making our training a key component of ensuring safety and compliance in your facility.   

TOPICS WE WILL COVER:

1 / Daniels Offers Multiple Training Options

2 / What Waste Management Education Does Daniels Provide?

3 / Biomedical Waste Classification and Segregation

4 / Safety of Sharpsmart 

5 / Sustainability of Sharpsmart 

6 / Biomedical Waste Regulations and Legislation

7 / On-Site Reference Materials

8 / Daniels Health Understands Biomedical Waste Management and Your Healthcare Environment 

Daniels Offers Multiple Training Options

No two people are the same, nor are organizations. This is why Daniels offers customised learning plans as well as multifaceted learning options. This includes training for every shift, meaning staff on night or relief schedules receive the same training opportunities as their earlier scheduled counterparts.

Daniels offers face-to-face training with waste experts who can provide knowledgeable answers to any staff questions. On-site demonstrations, question and answer sessions, and interactive lessons create engagement in ways flyers and emails aren’t able to. Daniels experts help ensure staff receive the training they need to correctly identify and dispose of healthcare waste.

However, Daniels offers more than one pathway to learning and also provides online courses to help present topics for staff to learn at their own pace. This is great for busy facilities whose staff may struggle to digest an entire course on waste management at one time.

What Waste Management Education Does Daniels Provide?

Daniels is committed to providing partnered healthcare providers with comprehensive training to guarantee compliance and the use of best practices in all areas of medical waste management. This includes correct classification and segregation of regulated medical waste, how to safely use our Sharpsmart system, and relevant biomedical waste regulations. Understanding how Sharpsmart contributes to sustainability efforts of the healthcare organization will promote further buy-in of its use.  

Biomedical Waste Classification and Segregation

Healthcare facilities generate a lot of waste every day. In fact, according to one report in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, the combined annual waste of 110 Canadian hospitals amounted to 87,000 tons. This waste comes in many different forms, with distinct degrees of risk and associated disposal requirements.

The large majority of this waste (85%, according to the World Health Organization) is general non-hazardous waste. This is one of the reasons it is crucial to ensure proper segregation of waste, as general waste can be disposed of in an affordable and environmentally-friendly manner.

However, the remaining 15% percent is considered to be biomedical or hazardous waste. This waste may be toxic or present an infection risk. It must be handled with extreme care and disposed of in a particular way. Waste such as sharps, pharmaceuticals, anatomical waste, cytotoxic medications, and infectious wastes must be classified and segregated into separate containers for proper treatment and disposal. Improper classification of these wastes can present a greater risk of harm to people and the environment as well as higher costs for healthcare facilities.
 

Training Staff in Waste Identification and Classification 

Staff play the most important role in ensuring that biomedical waste is placed in the correct container whenever it is generated. This is why Daniels offers detailed training on how to identify each type of waste, classify it properly, and store it correctly in the appropriate containers. Daniels’ unique healthcare waste training approach includes:

• The potential hazards posed by biomedical waste;
• The categories of waste that must be segregated;
• How to identify the waste categories and associated containers;
• Preparing for pickup and disposal of biomedical wastes; and
• Emergency procedures related to biomedical waste collection.
   

Safety of Sharpsmart

Used sharps, such as needles, syringes, and other sharp medical tools, are dangerous to healthcare workers and patients. By safely disposing of your sharps, you can keep others from getting hurt and prevent the spread of disease. The instructional video shows you how to use the Daniels Sharpsmart container and how to dispose of sharps in a legally compliant way. It also outlines the safety rules that the waste generator needs to follow when disposing of sharps.  

Sustainability of Sharpsmart

Sustainability is a growing concern for every healthcare provider. This is particularly true when it comes to managing waste streams. Daniels is acutely aware of the challenges healthcare facilities face when it comes to managing medical waste in an environmentally responsible manner while providing the best possible care for patients. This is why Daniels makes it easy by offering training on how to use Sharpsmart containers to reduce the volume of waste that ends up in landfills and incinerators.

This commitment to sustainability allows Daniels to offer improved environmental impact for all aspects of the waste stream. Daniels can help staff understand best practices for disposal and recycling to minimize waste and ultimately reduce CO2 emissions.

Biomedical Waste Regulations and Legislation

Healthcare facilities across Canada face numerous federal guidelines and regulations regarding the disposal of biomedical waste, such as those introduced by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME). Certain provinces have adopted these guidelines as enforceable requirements. Additionally, many provinces have introduced regulations in addition to or beyond these requirements. In many cases, municipal bylaws are more detailed and stringent than the guidelines of the CCME.

Daniels offers training to help facilities understand these requirements and how they impact operations at their particular facility. Regulations specify requirements for biomedical waste container type, storage, transport, treatment, and disposal. Daniels will help ensure staff are aware of their responsibilities as biomedical waste generators in order to protect themselves and their patients and remain compliant with local and federal waste regulations.

On-Site Reference Materials
 

Daniels’ support does not stop once initial training is completed. Ongoing training and on-site reference materials are available to help ensure staff continue to be aware of best disposal practices. Visual guides can be placed in key areas where waste is generated to help ensure correct disposal. Daniels provides a wide range of educational posters to inform staff on how to properly classify biomedical waste.

Daniels Health Understands Biomedical Waste Management and Your Healthcare Environment

As in every practice, knowledge of proper biomedical waste management is key to ensuring optimal outcomes. Daniels understands that every facility is unique and every individual learns differently, so we offer training for every shift, as well as online training resources to ensure the needs of every department and staff member are met. Contact Daniels Health today to see how we can help your organization tackle its biomedical waste management needs.

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