Safe disposal and decontamination key

Martin Priest, founder and chairman of DDC Dolphin, a specialist in sluice room and dirty utility room design, and the manufacture, installation, testing, and servicing of equipment for such environments, describes the company’s approach to human waste disposal in hospitals and other healthcare facilities. He explains the key part that a safe, efficient, and hygienic system for disposing of such waste can play in maintaining an infection-free care environment.

Here at DDC Dolphin we are continually striving to further educate ourselves on all areas of expertise within the healthcare industry, including the key subject of human waste management. We regularly seek further advice, education, and guidance from all governing bodies, an approach we believe enables us to better understand our customers’ needs, and respond accordingly.

Human waste is, of course, considered a bio-waste, because it is a vector for both viral and bacterial diseases, and can be a serious health hazard if not disposed of and treated correctly, making it imperative to dispose of it quickly and hygienically. It has become clear that without stringent infection control processes in hospitals and care homes, nosocomial infections such as Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Clostridium difficile (C. difficile), norovirus, and Extended-spectrum betalactamase (ESBL), can easily and quickly be transferred among patients, making infection control critical in safeguarding both staff and patient health, and in turn minimising the risk of costly ward closures necessitated by a major outbreak.