Making Medical Waste Containers Easier to Use in the Workplace
Discuss everyday tasks and responsibilities with any healthcare worker. You’ll discover that each person has a huge load on their shoulders. From keeping up with current procedures to caring for patients on a human level, being a caregiver is stressful each day. To add more complexity to the workplace, you also deal with hazardous waste, therefore, health-facility managers must make things easier in the workplace whenever possible. Using medical waste containers in the proper manner will make the workday easier for staff and patients alike.
Explain Common Hazardous Waste to the Experts
The first step toward easier container use is being upfront about your facility’s specialties. From blood work to chemotherapy supplies, certain waste must be confined to specific, biohazard waste containers. The container professionals consider every factor that pertains to a facility. They create a plan that simplifies the container layout across the building. Without transparent communication between facilities and experts, improper arrangements may occur. Although you may treat a dozen different ailments in one facility, associated waste from those practices may be complementary to each other. As a result, only one bin is necessary in some cases.
Try Universal Containers
Biohazard waste containers hold many different items. In most cases, each item remains isolated in its own vial or protective coating. Waste doesn’t necessarily mix within the bins so healthcare managers should specify the exact items that will be found in those containers. You may be surprised to hear that one bin may be all that’s necessary for a facility. A red, plastic container added to each patient room completes the safety protocols at one institution. Universal containers tell workers that every item is welcome so that productivity can reign supreme.
Avoid Excessive Color Coding
Medical waste containers can’t always be applied in universal fashions. Large, healthcare facilities may have hundreds of patients with countless ailments being treated on any given day. These facilities require several different bins. Try to narrow down the bin colors to only two or three types. Creating a rainbow of colors only encourages confusion. Those questioning minds become frustrated. The workers end up placing random items into the bins without any regards to their compatibility with other substances within. Dangerous conditions manifest themselves from too many multicolored bins in one facility alone.
Keep Up With Maintenance
Waste bins aren’t easy to use if many of them are malfunctioning. Always keep up with maintenance when it comes to container functionality. They must slide with ease while the locks are agile enough for a quick release. Your facility doesn’t have to keep up with repairs because the service provider is responsible for those details. Discover a problem, and contact the container management company. Reputable companies send out their best people to empty, fix or replace those containers without any perceived downtime at the facility.
Update the Staff on Medical Waste Containers and Their Locations
Most medical waste bins always remain in their same location in a facility. However, new staff members arrive on a regular basis. Hold monthly or quarterly meetings on the containers’ uses and locations. New, team members will feel included while veterans realize where certain containers ended up after a prior remodel. Communication breeds a cohesive, working environment.
MedSharps dedication to the healthcare world is streamlining work practices in the workplace. Biohazard waste containers don’t have to be confusing or difficult to access. Reputable professionals train and explain every detail about those medical waste containers to your staff members. Using the containers out of sheer habit is the goal of every healthcare facility. Proper protocols simply keep everyone safe and healthy.
