Hospitals, being public places visited by a large number of patients and public every day, are prone to pollution of environment very fast.
Whether it is the generation of infectious or noninfectious biomedical waste, the chemical or radioactive waste, unsanitary conditions and odorous air due to sheer volume of people using the limited space and facilities or it is the irritating cacophony in the overcrowded spaces or worse still, the noise produced by the DG sets, the AC plant or the compressor in the manifold room, the pollution does start offending the senses of patients and staff in the hospital as well as the public living in the vicinity.
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Whether the patients or public complain about it or not, it does affect the process of recovery of patients as well as the efficiency of staff. Management of every hospital must make efforts to provide a safe environment to the patients as well as public by taking the following measures:
1. Arrangement for safe and timely disposal of biomedical, hazardous (chemical, radioactive, mercury waste) and municipal waste so that it does not become a source of unpleasant sight, odors, infections or other adverse effects.
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2. Pretreatment of liquid waste in an effective effluent treatment plant to bring down the level of chemical/biological burden before discharge in the public sewers.
3. Strict compliance of antismoking laws.
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4. Proper arrangement to ensure noise control by acoustic treatment of enclosures for DG sets AC plant and compressors in the manifold room.
5. Maintenance of high standards of hygiene and sanitation in the hospital;
6. Odor control in the mortuary ensuring that it does not become a source of environmental pollution.
7. Ensuring that the hospital has adequate parking arrangement so that the vehicles do not become a traffic/environmental hazard for the public in the area outside.