In January, the Sheikh Zayed Hospital became the second medical facility in Pakistan to build/install an autoclave for disposal of highly infectious medical waste. Steam autoclaving will now supplement incineration and chemical disinfection as the method of choice for this process. However, the equipment will have a hard time keeping up with the current workload at this busy facility.
The unit purchased has a capacity of 450 kg per day. The complex has 713 beds. The World Health Organization put a conservative estimate for the amount of waste production per bed/day at about 2 kg. This means only a portion of the HIW generated can be disposed of via the new autoclave at this time. SZH may choose to add to its sterilizer fleet at a later time or simply continue to use other available disposal methods.
This Lahore medical center is a bustling hub of activity for the Punjabi region and beyond. It is equipped with state of the art equipment for surgery and other advanced treatment options. Because of this, Sheikh Zayed Hospital is the preferred tertiary care center in the area. They boast a full complement of specialists to provide neonatal care, joint replacement, cardiac surgery, and laparoscopic surgery. They also treat thousands of emergency and accident victims each year. The construction of an additional Kidney Institute was set in motion in 1998. It now provides treatment and transplantation services. This clinic is also a training facility for postgraduate medical study in Nephrology and Urology.
About Autoclaving Medical Waste
The waste disposal process for highly infectious materials follows a number of carefully controlled steps. These ensure safety during every stage of the sterilization process. Specially marked, autoclaveable bags are used to gather the materials for disposal. They are highly resistant to punctures and are not likely to rip. These red, yellow, or orange bags are generally made of polyethylene or polypropylene. Each one is marked with a biohazard symbol and may include a temperature sensitive message to show when the contents have been processed.
The full bags are loaded into the pre-heating area and the unit is fired up. When it is ready for use, the waste containers are placed in the autoclave compartment. All the air is sucked out of this chamber and then steam is injected. Once the correct temperature is reached, the timer starts. The sterilizing process continues with more steam being introduced over time to keep the heat high throughout the cycle. When enough time has passed to kill all infectious pathogens, the cool down period begins. Once the material has cooled, it can be shredded or otherwise compacted. This reduces the space it will take up in the landfill.
The high vacuum sterilizing unit purchased by SZH came from Bondtech Corporation. This company specializes in advanced waste treatment technology for industrial and medical customers. They have been manufacturing autoclaves for commercial medical waste disposal for about 10 years. The company claims to have cornered most of the market in the U.S. for this type of application. Of course, when it comes to any autoclave or sterilizer, you do have choices. That is why we provide you a helpful report free of charge. We want you to know what your options are!