Medical Waste Management at the Muhammadiyah University General Hospital of Malang During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Abstract
Medical waste in hospitals increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Medical waste management is very important and includes sorting, transporting, weighing, temporarily storing, and handing over waste to third parties. The Muhammadiyah University General Hospital of Malang (RSU UMM) is a referral hospital for COVID-19. This study aimed to evaluate medical waste management at the RSU UMM during the COVID-19 pandemic. This was an observational, retrospective and descriptive study that was conducted from March 2020 until July 2021. The secondary data were taken from the environmental health unit reports at RSU UMM. The collected data included weights of COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 medical waste. Over the study period, there were 1762 COVID-19 patients. The solid waste included disposable waste and personal protective equipment. The medical waste at RSU UMM during the COVID-19 pandemic was more substantial than before the pandemic. The different treatments of medical waste before and during the pandemic were classified by type, weight and frequency of transport. Over the 16 months, 46,649 kg of hospital waste was managed.
Keywords: medical waste, COVID-19, weight of waste
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