The Guyana Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) will soon be implementing a US$1M Hydroclave system in an effort to sterilise bio-medical waste, an initiative that was lauded by the Minister of Health, Dr Leslie Ramsammy.

The Hydroclave Treatment System’s implementation was made possible with the support of the World Bank and exemplifies the use of modern technology, as many healthcare facilities in developed countries are now implementing it.

To this end, Ramsammy said, “This is a paradigm shift in the way bio-medical waste is handled and the venture addresses a critical public health issue.”

The minister made these comments at the first of a three-day workshop at the GPHC’s multi-purpose room yesterday.

The workshop, themed ‘A modern healthcare waste management solution for Georgetown and environs’ was aimed at:

* Providing continued training of staff on the modern healthcare waste management best practices;

* Sensitising and educating management and staff to the modern Hydroclave Treatment System to be established at GPHC; and

* Improving safety and health practices at the GPHC.

The health minister noted that previously, the waste was taken, as is, to a dumpsite; but with the introduction of the new system, the waste will be sterilised and pulverised, after which it will be taken to the dumpsite, where it will pose no threat.

Bio-medical waste is any solid or liquid waste which may present a threat of infection to humans. It includes non-liquid tissue, body parts, blood, blood products, and body fluids from humans and other primates, laboratory and veterinary wastes which contain human disease-causing agents, and discarded sharps.

To this end, bio-medical waste, if not handled in a proper way, is a potent source of diseases, like HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, hepatitis and other bacterial diseases causing serious threats to human health.

“The more services that the GPHC provides the more bio-medical waste will be generated,” he asserted.

Ramsammy noted that the health sector is designed to protect people from diseases and so the introduction of the Hydroclave system would facilitate this.

The minister added too that the addition of this new technology was consistent with the evolution of healthcare services in Guyana as well as the approach of GPHC to modernise their services.

The Hydroclave Treatment System will be sited at the Northwestern section of the ‘N’ Block of the GPHC.

There, according to Chief Executive Officer Mr. Michael Khan, the waste generated by the hospital and other healthcare delivery institutions in Regions Three (West Demerara/ Essequibo Islands) and Four (Demerara/Mahaica) will be treated.

Khan explained that a bio-hazard truck will be used to collect the waste from the other facilities for a fee.

The CEO pointed out that for starters, only Regions Three and Four will be targeted, but assured that the services will be expanded.

When questioned as to why this system was not put in place earlier, Mrs. Corletta Benn-Alphonso, Quality Assurance Officer, responded by pointing out that certain processes had to be adhered to before acquisition.

“There had to be a feasibility study done as well as internal consultations to work out the logistics of having such a system,” she said.

The Hydroclave system has five components:

* A specially designed and dedicated vehicle to transport bagged infectious waste for treatment;

* A scale to monitor the waste from every healthcare facility;

* A double-walled cylindrical vessel which processes the waste;

* A shredder which provides post-processed shredding of the waste;

* A compacter to reduce the volume of treated waste;

* A bin to collect and store treated/ compacted waste, and

* A skip truck to collect bin of treated waste to a municipal landfill.

The system uses essentially a cylindrical vessel, horizontally mounted, with one or more top loading doors, and a smaller unloading one at the bottom.

The vessel is fitted with a motor driven shaft, to which are attached powerful fragmenting/mixing arms that slowly rotate the vessel.

When steam is introduced in the vessel jacket, it transmits heat rapidly to the fragmented waste, which in turn produces steam of its own.

During the process the waste is shredded, dehydrated and harmful micro-organisms are destroyed.