Home Care – Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) Waste Management
Version: V[X]
Ratified by:
Date ratified: Click here to enter a date.
Job Title of author:
[job title & dept]
Reviewed by Committee or Expert Group [expert group, virtual panel or sub-committee]
Equality Impact Assessed by: [job title & dept]
Related procedural documents [show all related document]
Review date: [2 years from date of ratification]
It is the responsibility of users to ensure that you are using the most up to date document template – ie obtained via the intranet.
In developing/reviewing this policy Provide Community has had regard to the principles of the NHS Constitution.
Version Control Sheet
Version Date Author Status Comment
1. Introduction
Waste management plays an important role in providing a safe environment for clients and staff.
The management of waste is an essential part of ensuring that care activities do not pose a risk or potential risk of infection.
2. Purpose
To ensure staff are aware of the systems in place to safely manage waste in order to maintain service user, staff and visitor safety and to ensure compliance with all relevant waste legislation and guidance.
3. Definitions
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4. Duties
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5. Consultation and Communication
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6. Monitoring
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7. Target Group
All Home Care staff including bank, agency and other visiting staff.
All staff should receive training in waste management relevant to their role as part of mandatory training.
8. What is Healthcare Waste?
a. any waste which consists wholly or partly of human or animal tissue, blood or other body fluids, excretions, drugs or other pharmaceutical products, swabs or dressings, syringes, needles or other sharp instruments, being waste which unless rendered safe may prove hazardous to any person coming into contact with it
b. any other waste arising from medical, nursing, dental, veterinary, pharmaceutical or similar practice, investigation, treatment, care, teaching or research, or the collection of blood for transfusion, being waste which may cause infection to any person coming into contact with it
Most waste generated during home care will not be classed as healthcare waste but as domestic waste with a few exceptions as follows:
Categories of waste in the patient’s home
Category
Description
Mixed domestic waste Black bag – plasters, small dressings, incontinence products (pads, catheter bags etc.) as well as household waste
Offensive/hygiene waste Yellow / black striped bag – may be required if there are large volumes of dressings especially if patient receives district nursing care
Sharps waste
Yellow lidded sharps bin – for patients self-administering insulin, for example. These are supplied by GP on prescription
Infectious waste Yellow or orange bag – on rare occasions if waste is considered infectious and the patient is being cared for by a district nurse – organized by their GP or district nurse
Recycling waste
Packaging from products can be recycled if appropriate e.g. cardboard, paper etc.
Good practice points in relation to waste management:
All Home Care staff should be familiar with local council requirements for waste separation/storage/collection. Guidance will be provided by your employer.
When discarding soiled items e.g. incontinence pads, if available place in a thin plastic bag such as a bin liner or food waste bag prior to discarding into domestic waste.
When full, domestic waste bags must be tied at the neck and discarded into the service users’ black bin. Healthcare waste (if generated by district nurses) may be disposed of separately.
Sharps bins will not be the responsibility of home care staff as bins are used during clinical care by community nursing teams or by the patient themselves
When handling any waste bag, the bag should be held by the neck.
When handling waste staff should always wear appropriate protective clothing i.e. plastic apron and gloves.
Protective clothing can be discarded into the domestic waste bin.
9. Reference
Dept. of Health (2007) Safe management of healthcare waste (HTM 07-01)
EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT
TEMPLATE: Stage 1: ‘Screening’
Name of project/policy/strategy (hereafter referred to as “initiative”):
Provide a brief summary (bullet points) of the aims of the initiative and main activities:
Project/Policy Manager:
Date:
This stage establishes whether a proposed initiative will have an impact from an equality perspective on any particular group of people or community – i.e. on the grounds of race (incl. religion/faith), gender (incl. sexual orientation), age, disability, or whether it is “equality neutral” (i.e. have no effect either positive or negative). In the case of gender, consider whether men and women are affected differently.
Q1. Who will benefit from this initiative? Is there likely to be a positive impact on specific groups/communities (whether or not they are the intended beneficiaries), and if so, how? Or is it clear at this stage that it will be equality “neutral”? i.e. will have no particular effect on any group.
Q2. Is there likely to be an adverse impact on one or more minority/underrepresented or community groups as a result of this initiative? If so, who may be affected and why?
Or is it clear at this stage that it will be equality “neutral”?
Q3. Is the impact of the initiative – whether positive or negative - significant enough to warrant a more detailed assessment (Stage 2 – see guidance)? If not, will there be monitoring and review to assess the impact over a period time? Briefly (bullet points) give reasons for your answer and any steps you are taking to address particular issues, including any consultation with staff or external groups/agencies.
Guidelines: Things to consider
Equality impact assessments at Provide take account of relevant equality legislation and include age, (i.e. young and old,); race and ethnicity, gender, disability, religion and faith, and sexual orientation.
The initiative may have a positive, negative or neutral impact, i.e. have no particular effect on the group/community.
Where a negative (i.e. adverse) impact is identified, it may be appropriate to make a more detailed EIA (see Stage 2), or, as important, take early action to redress this – e.g. by abandoning or modifying the initiative. NB: If the initiative contravenes equality legislation, it must be abandoned or modified.
Where an initiative has a positive impact on groups/community relations, the EIA should make this explicit, to enable the outcomes to be monitored over its lifespan.
Where there is a positive impact on particular groups does this mean there could be an adverse impact on others, and if so can this be justified? - e.g. are there other existing or planned initiatives which redress this?
It may not be possible to provide detailed answers to some of these questions at the start of the initiative. The EIA may identify a lack of relevant data, and that data-gathering is a specific action required to inform the initiative as it develops, and also to form part of a continuing evaluation and review process.
It is envisaged that it will be relatively rare for full impact assessments to be carried out at Provide. Usually, where there are particular problems identified in the screening stage, it is envisaged that the approach will be amended at this stage, and/or setting up a monitoring/evaluation system to review a policy’s impact over time.
EQUALITY IMPACT ASSESSMENT TEMPLATE: Stage 2:
(To be used where the ‘screening phase has identified a substantial problem/concern)
This stage examines the initiative in more detail in order to obtain further information where required about its potential adverse or positive impact from an equality perspective. It will help inform whether any action needs to be taken and may form part of a continuing assessment framework as the initiative develops.
Q1. What data/information is there on the target beneficiary groups/communities? Are any of these groups under- or over-represented? Do they have access to the same resources? What are your sources of data and are there any gaps?
Q2. Is there a potential for this initiative to have a positive impact, such as tackling discrimination, promoting equality of opportunity and good community relations? If yes, how? Which are the main groups it will have an impact on?
Q3. Will the initiative have an adverse impact on any particular group or community/community relations? If yes, in what way? Will the impact be different for different groups – e.g. men and women?
Q4. Has there been consultation/is consultation planned with stakeholders/ beneficiaries/ staff who will be affected by the initiative? Summarise (bullet points) any important issues arising from the consultation.
Q5. Given your answers to the previous questions, how will your plans be revised to reduce/eliminate negative impact or enhance positive impact? Are there specific factors which need to be taken into account?
Q6. How will the initiative continue to be monitored and evaluated, including its impact on particular groups/ improving community relations? Where appropriate, identify any additional data that will be required.
Guidelines: Things to consider
An initiative may have a positive impact on some sectors of the community but leave others excluded or feeling they are excluded. Consideration should be given to how this can be tackled or minimised.
It is important to ensure that relevant groups/communities are identified who should be consulted. This may require taking positive action to engage with those groups who are traditionally less likely to respond to consultations, and could form a specific part of the initiative.
The consultation process should form a meaningful part of the initiative as it develops, and help inform any future action.
If the EIA shows an adverse impact, is this because it contravenes any equality legislation? If so, the initiative must be modified or abandoned. There may be another way to meet the objective(s) of the initiative.
Further information:
Useful Websites www.equalityhumanrights.com Website for new Equality agency www.employers-forum.co.uk – Employers forum on disability www.efa.org.uk – Employers forum on age
© MDA 2007
