Fairfield General Hospital
At the beginning of the process, our waste management goals seemed daunting and I wondered how we would achieve what seemed like maybe an unrealistic target. However, with Sharpsmart’s expertise and guidance, we’ve achieved significant improvements in our waste management. At FGH we pride ourselves on inclusion and teamwork, and the engagement of the whole team has enabled our success. I would also like to thank Louise Ellidge for taking a leading role in the implementation and continued support within the department.
Karen Ellis – Practice-Based Educator, Fairfield General HospitalThe Challenge
Part of the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, Fairfield General Hospital is the Northern Care Alliance’s third-largest hospital, located two miles from the centre of Bury, near Manchester.
The theatre department at Fairfield General Hospital was facing challenges with waste segregation which resulted in non-compliance issues – there was an overall lack of knowledge and awareness on segregation best practices and no offensive waste stream being used in theatres.
The lack of segregation went beyond the issue of orange bags being used throughout the theatre department. There were also non-compliance issues such as waste being disposed of incorrectly, including domestic waste, gloves and other PPE being found in sharps bins. Even when using the correct bins for sharps waste, the colour-coding requirements for sharps disposal weren’t being followed correctly.
Complicated bin labels and a lack of clear signage also contributed to the challenges being faced by the department.
Our Approach
STEP 1
Karen Ellis, the Practice-Based Educator for Fairfield General Hospital, reached out to Sharpsmart and asked us to carry out a waste audit across her department to identify the gaps and challenges they were facing with compliance and segregation.
STEP 2
Working closely with Karen, Sharpsmart’s waste experts conducted a thorough waste audit and compiled the feedback from staff working within the department alongside their findings to create a strategy for improvement and KPIs for the department to work towards.
STEP 3
With a strategy mapped out, KPIs agreed upon and new waste streams introduced to drive sustainable outcomes across the department, Sharpsmart offered training and support to the theatre team to help achieve compliance and ensured we were always available to answer any questions or concerns among staff.
The Solution
In line with Karen’s vision for more sustainable theatres, we introduced the offensive waste stream and metal recycling waste throughout the department, and provided segregation training to all staff to increase awareness of correct procedures and improve compliance.
Clear and easy-to-understand educational materials such as posters, signage and bin labels were provided and installed throughout the department to aid segregation efforts.
As well as ongoing training in close partnership with Karen Ellis, Sharpsmart will return every three months to conduct waste audits, continuing to monitor progress and adapt the training and education as necessary to meet the specific needs of the theatre department.
The Outcome
Since the introduction and training of the new waste stream at Fairfield General Hospital, the theatre team has turned the compliance issues previously faced around and is on a good track.
In fact, they have now taken the lead with the best scores for segregation of all theatre departments in the Northern Care Alliance – a testament to what can be achieved from a collaborative team effort when all staff are aligned and empowered to drive positive change.
Our ongoing efforts of regular auditing and training sessions are driving positive results across the department, and a great working partnership has formed between staff at Fairfield General Hospital and Sharpsmart.