REVIEWING CLINICAL WASTE MANAGEMENT UNDER THE LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK IN PAKISTAN: PRACTICES AND CHALLENGES

The waste generated at healthcare facilities has two distinct categories: hazardous and non-hazardous waste. 10- 15% of the total waste generated at hospitals is hazardous which is termed as clinical waste. This review article has reported and reviewed the practices of clinical waste management in Pakistan’s major cities. Researches demonstrated that about 1.35 Kg / bed waste has been produced by the tertiary health care facilities in Pakistan. Studies for review process are selected through an iterative process. More than 100 research articles, National legislations, international protocols and newspaper reports are consulted and reviewed to extract the data of interest. Clinical waste management in Pakistan is the responsibility of the individual health care facility producing it under Hospital Waste Management Rules, 2005. Due to lack of proper checks and weak implementation of legislations many gaps have been identified in this review article like lack of segregation, inappropriate vehicles for transportation, poor storage and no advanced pollution control treatment strategies. Most of the hospitals lack documented waste management plan. Staff was mostly untrained and under educated. International standards for safe hazardous waste disposal are not being followed resulting in spread of diseases like hepatitis and AIDS. Cases of poor recycling and reuse of used clinical instruments is also documented. However, the condition is much satisfactory in big cities. There is an understanding to focus on the proper implementation of clinical waste management rules with strict checks. Establishment of incineration facility at major hospitals with proper maintenance, safe transportation to secure landfills and utilization of proper SOPs are suggested improvements towards safe management of clinical waste.