Weighing equipment supplier Avery Weigh-Tronix says its equipment could help the East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust save £100,000 per year on its clinical waste disposal.
Dan Gurney, the Trust’s facilities business manager said: “It is well documented that 40 per cent of the clinical waste disposed of by hospitals should actually be in the general waste stream. Clinical waste disposal costs us between £335 and £700 per tonne, and general waste disposal around £100 per tonne. Although clinical waste is about one third of our total volume, it accounts for two-thirds of our waste disposal budget, so is an obvious potential area for efficiency savings.” The Kent NHS Trust has installed three floor-mounted Avery Weigh- Tronix scale stations, one at each of its three main hospitals’ waste collection sites. Each scale has an E1210 indicator controlling the scale, and links to a central network on which Avery Weigh-Tronix has installed its M725 Data Power management software. When waste is disposed of, the Avery Weigh-Tronix system prompts an operator for their identification, the department or source of waste, the type of waste, and the bin or trolley identity. The hospital’s head office can then monitor and report on the data to track trends and identify areas for improvement. Reports can then show such important details as waste streams by cost, location, and department.
