Training, Safety and Emergency Response Procedures for Major Producers

By law, all clinical waste producers and licensed collectors should make the necessary arrangement and provide adequate supervision to prevent any danger or injury to their staff arising from the handling of clinical waste. They should also take all such precautions as are necessary for preventing any danger to public health or safety, any pollution to the environment and any nuisance to the neighbouring area in storing, removing, collecting, receiving, delivering and transporting of clinical waste. Reference to Section 7 of the Waste Disposal (Clinical Waste)(General) Regulation is relevant.

General Requirements

Basic measures include but are not limited to the following ::

  • Responsible personnel for the management of clinical waste and frontline staff involved in handling clinical waste should all receive proper training.
  • Direct handling of clinical waste containers should be minimized as far as possible through provision of bins on wheels, trolleys or carts, transit skips, etc.
  • Regular inspection of clinical waste storage area (and its access) should be conducted to ensure that it is free from obstruction and is kept dry and clean.
  • No one should eat, drink or smoke while handling clinical waste. Reminder should be posted at appropriate areas.
  • Safety and health requirements under other relevant ordinances (e.g. Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance (Cap. 509)) and regulations should be observed.

Safety Equipment and Training

Employers should ensure that all employees involved in handling clinical waste are provided with adequate safety information, protective equipment and training.

All staff who may be required to handle or transfer clinical waste should be trained to -

  • follow safety procedures and wear appropriate personal safety and protective gear before handling clinical waste;
  • identify different types of clinical waste and know their packaging and handling requirements;
  • seal different types of waste containers;
  • label different types of waste containers;
  • handle plastic bags by the neck only;
  • avoid damaging the packaging;
  • handle accidental spillage and leakage of clinical waste;
  • check that waste containers and their seals are not broken or damaged after movement;
  • know the precautions in dealing with special types of clinical waste (e.g. sharps, infectious waste); and
  • observe personal hygiene practices, e.g. wash hands thoroughly after handling clinical waste

Emergency Procedures

Employers should establish procedures for handling emergencies involving spillage or leakage of clinical waste and make available the procedures to their staff for reference.

In the event of emergencies involving spillage or leakage of clinical waste, the spillage or leakage should be stopped as soon as practicable and the spilled or leaked waste cleaned up promptly. The affected area should be properly cleaned and disinfected. Absorbent materials, disinfection chemicals, protective clothing, masks, eye protection, gloves should be used as appropriate in the clean-up and disinfection operations.

All materials arising from the clean-up of spilled or leaked clinical waste should be disposed of as clinical waste and should be properly packaged and labelled before disposal.

All spillage or leakage incidents should be recorded and reported to the responsible person according to the established procedures. Follow-up investigations of the incidents should be conducted so that improvement measures can be taken to avoid recurrence of similar incidents in future.

It is a requirement of the Regulation that waste producers should take all such precautions as are necessary for preventing any danger to public health or safety, pollution to the environment and nuisance to the neighbouring area that might be caused by the clinical waste generated on their premises. A person who contravenes this commits an offence and is liable to a fine of $200000 and to imprisonment for 6 months.

Needle-stick injuries are predictable and preventable

Needle-stick injuries are predictable and preventable
Check and prevent potential problems

Check and prevent potential problems

Training, Safety and Emergency Response Procedures for Major Producers

By law, all clinical waste producers and licensed collectors should make the necessary arrangement and provide adequate supervision to prevent any danger or injury to their staff arising from the handling of clinical waste. They should also take all such precautions as are necessary for preventing any danger to public health or safety, any pollution to the environment and any nuisance to the neighbouring area in storing, removing, collecting, receiving, delivering and transporting of clinical waste. Reference to Section 7 of the Waste Disposal (Clinical Waste)(General) Regulation is relevant.

General Requirements

Basic measures include but are not limited to the following ::

Safety Equipment and Training

Employers should ensure that all employees involved in handling clinical waste are provided with adequate safety information, protective equipment and training.

All staff who may be required to handle or transfer clinical waste should be trained to -

Emergency Procedures

Employers should establish procedures for handling emergencies involving spillage or leakage of clinical waste and make available the procedures to their staff for reference.

In the event of emergencies involving spillage or leakage of clinical waste, the spillage or leakage should be stopped as soon as practicable and the spilled or leaked waste cleaned up promptly. The affected area should be properly cleaned and disinfected. Absorbent materials, disinfection chemicals, protective clothing, masks, eye protection, gloves should be used as appropriate in the clean-up and disinfection operations.

All materials arising from the clean-up of spilled or leaked clinical waste should be disposed of as clinical waste and should be properly packaged and labelled before disposal.

All spillage or leakage incidents should be recorded and reported to the responsible person according to the established procedures. Follow-up investigations of the incidents should be conducted so that improvement measures can be taken to avoid recurrence of similar incidents in future.

It is a requirement of the Regulation that waste producers should take all such precautions as are necessary for preventing any danger to public health or safety, pollution to the environment and nuisance to the neighbouring area that might be caused by the clinical waste generated on their premises. A person who contravenes this commits an offence and is liable to a fine of $200000 and to imprisonment for 6 months.

Needle-stick injuries are predictable and preventable

Needle-stick injuries are predictable and preventable
Check and prevent potential problems

Check and prevent potential problems