Page 1526 - Week 05 - Thursday, 12 May 1994
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(1) The ACT Government Service's Occupational Health and Safety Unit has an
outposted office based at Woden Valley Hospital to advise management on the full
range of occupational health and safety standards. The Occupational Health and
Safety Unit, Hospital Management and the ACT Government Analytical
Laboratory have a monitoring role regarding procedures and practices to ensure
that discharges do not exceed standards.
All contaminated wastes are placed in special clearly marked contaminated waste
bags and disposed of by TOTALCARE.
Used "sharps" (needles) are placed in "sharps" containers and disposed with contaminated wastes by TOTALCARE.
Within Community Health there are designated OH&S officers who monitor compliance with OH&S standards on a regular basis. Procedures are in place for handling incidents such as needle stick injuries.
The Department of Health Dental clinics use high speed suction units to remove wastes and extract toxins such as amalgam. The extracted wastes are disposed by a private Sydney based contractor. All hazardous substances used in dental clinics and laboratories are handled in compliance with OH&S Policies and designated laboratory staff are trained in the handling of hazardous chemicals.
At Calvary Hospital a number of monitoring mechanisms exist to protect patients, staff and members of the public. A Hazardous Substances Register is maintained and subject to ongoing review. It identifies all hazardous subsidences used in the facility, and their location. The Hospital closely follows the requirements of the ACT Clinical Waste Manual and directions are included in a number of manuals throughout the facility. The Hospital has a full-time Occupational Health and Safety Officer on staff, who assists in monitoring the use and disposal of hazardous substances which are included in medical and nursing manuals and the Infection Control Manual. Some on-site monitoring processes are complemented by the use of external companies to provide regular, and independent evaluations. Where dilution and disposal of certain chemicals is necessary through the waste water and sewerage system, appropriate permits are held.
(2) The Department of Health is not aware of any documented occasions where
standards have been exceeded in the last three years. However, at Calvary
Hospital on one occasion in the last three years, Gluteraldehyde fumes exceeded
normal readings for a short period of time - approximately fifteen minutes. In
addition, there have been a number of minor incidents affecting staff in matters
such as paint fumes, carpet glue and solvent fumes.
With the exception of Gluteraldehyde, no other readings were taken as immediate action was instituted to correct the problem, or the fumes has dispersed when checked.
(3) Because of the brief nature of most of the problems at Calvary Hospital a
measurement against standards was not possible.
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