Standards and Regulations
Standards and Regulations
– Chaz Scholefield, Waste Manager, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn NHS Trust
Sharpsmart aims to meet and exceed all applicable international and UK standards for clinical waste and sharps disposal, and to comply with all regulations relating to its operations in any given regulatory jurisdiction.
Sharps Container Regulations
It Is paramount that sharps containers provide a safe method of disposal, as these objects pose a significant risk to the general public, patients and staff working within healthcare facilities. It is critical for the correct container to be provided, one that meets the minimum requirement to minimise risk of injury and infection, with the appropriate colour of lid to identify the waste stream.
BS EN ISO 23907-1:2019 and BS EN ISO 23907-2: 2019 specifies the requirements for single-use and reusable sharps containers, respectively. It is recommended that sharps containers within your healthcare facility meet the requirements set out by the standards authority to ensure you are doing all that you can to reduce the risk of injury and infection to your staff, patients, and the general public.
Regulations for Sharps Disposal
Sharps containers have distinct colour coded lids, as a minimum requirement to ensure the safe and compliant waste disposals. Imp waste segregation leads to an increase in cost, compliance issues and an increased negative impact on the environment. The Health Technical Memorandum outlines best practices for sharps container colour coding, labelling and disposal.
The Health & Safety Executive also provides links to policies and sharps disposal regulations.
The management of sharps disposal, clinical, pharmaceutical, and cytotoxic waste is highly regulated due to the potentially hazardous nature of the materials involved. Sharpsmart continuously monitors all relevant laws and regulations locally and internationally and works hard to ensure its products and services are fully compliant. Healthcare professionals understand the importance of reducing risk in their workplace. It is important that they understand and trust the products and services they use in their everyday tasks. The following are examples of applicable Standards and Regulations:
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