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{{org_field_name}}

Registration Number: {{org_field_registration_no}}

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Clinical and Hygiene Products Waste Policy

1. Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to ensure that all clinical, offensive, hygiene and related waste generated or handled by {{org_field_name}} in the care home is identified, segregated, stored, handled, transported and disposed of safely, lawfully and in a way that protects people using the service, staff, visitors, contractors and the public.

This policy supports compliance with the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, in particular Regulation 12 (Safe care and treatment), Regulation 15 (Premises and equipment), Regulation 17 (Good governance) and Regulation 18 (Staffing), together with the Health and Social Care Act 2008: Code of Practice on the prevention and control of infections and related guidance, current CQC guidance, and national healthcare waste guidance including HTM 07-01 / Safe management of healthcare waste.

The policy sets out the arrangements for risk assessment, waste classification, segregation, packaging, labelling, storage, collection, consignment, transport, incident reporting, training, audit and review so that waste is managed safely and in line with current legislation and guidance.

2. Scope

This policy applies to all persons working at or on behalf of {{org_field_name}} in the care home, including employees, bank staff, agency staff, registered nurses, carers, senior care staff, domestic staff, laundry staff, catering staff, maintenance staff, managers, visiting professionals, volunteers and contractors where relevant to their role.

It applies to all clinical, offensive, hygiene and related waste generated through the delivery of care, treatment, personal care, infection prevention and control activities, continence care, wound care, medicines-related activity, cleaning and decontamination, and the maintenance of a safe and hygienic care environment.

3. Related Policies

• CH11 – Safe Care and Treatment Policy
• CH16 – Health and Safety at Work Policy
• CH17 – Infection Prevention and Control Policy
• CH22 – Handling and Disposal of Hazardous Substances Policy
• CH24 – Management of Accidents, Incidents, and Near Misses Policy
• CH34 – Confidentiality and Data Protection (GDPR) – Service User Policy

4. Policy Statement and Responsibilities

Commitment to Safe and Legal Waste Management

{{org_field_name}} is committed to ensuring that all waste arising from care activities is managed in accordance with current legislation, national guidance and best practice. Waste management arrangements will support safe care and treatment, prevention and control of infection, maintenance of hygienic premises and equipment, effective governance, staff competence, environmental protection and lawful disposal.

The service will comply with the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, the Health and Social Care Act 2008: Code of Practice on the prevention and control of infections and related guidance, Safe management of healthcare waste / HTM 07-01 principles, relevant health and safety law, hazardous waste requirements where applicable, and transport requirements for any movement of healthcare waste. Waste will only be removed by approved and appropriately authorised waste contractors, and records will be maintained to demonstrate lawful segregation, collection and disposal.

Definitions

• Clinical waste: Waste arising from healthcare or similar activities which may pose a risk of infection or other hazard and which requires appropriate segregation, packaging, handling, storage and disposal.
• Infectious waste: Waste known or suspected to contain pathogens in sufficient quantity or concentration to cause disease and requiring management as infectious healthcare waste.
• Offensive waste / hygiene waste: Waste that is not infectious but may be unpleasant or may cause offence, including continence waste, sanitary waste, nappies, PPE not contaminated with infectious material, and similar items.
• Sharps: Items capable of cutting or puncturing the skin, including needles, syringes with needles attached, lancets, scalpels and other sharp instruments.
• Medicinally contaminated waste: Waste contaminated with medicines, including pharmaceutical residues, which may require segregation into a separate waste stream depending on the nature of the contamination.
• Hazardous waste: Waste classified as hazardous under waste classification rules and requiring additional controls for storage, consignment and disposal.
• Domestic waste: Waste that is not clinical, infectious, offensive or hazardous and can enter the general household waste stream where permitted by local arrangements and classification rules.

Waste Segregation

Waste must be segregated correctly at the point of production by the person generating the waste. Staff must not mix waste streams. Waste classification and segregation must follow current national healthcare waste guidance and the colour-coding system adopted by the service’s waste contractor.

As a minimum:

• infectious waste must be placed in the correct infectious waste stream and packaging for treatment or disposal in accordance with current guidance and contractor requirements;
• offensive / hygiene waste that is not infectious must be placed in the appropriate offensive waste packaging;
• sharps must be disposed of immediately at the point of use into an approved sharps container of the correct type;
• medicinally contaminated waste must be segregated into the correct stream where applicable;
• domestic and recyclable waste must be kept separate from healthcare waste.

Where there is uncertainty about classification, staff must seek advice from the Registered Manager, Infection Prevention and Control Lead, nurse in charge or the authorised waste contractor before disposal. Waste must never be re-bagged by hand unless this is part of a risk-assessed spill or incident response using appropriate PPE and safe systems of work.

The service will maintain an up-to-date local waste stream guide showing the packaging colour, container type, examples of contents, storage rules and disposal route for each waste stream used at the care home.

Waste Storage, Collection and Contractor Arrangements

All healthcare waste generated at the care home must be stored securely in designated areas pending collection by an approved and appropriately authorised waste contractor. Storage areas must be clean, secure, inaccessible to unauthorised persons, protected from pests and weather, and managed so that waste does not accumulate beyond safe levels.

Waste must be packaged, labelled and presented in accordance with the waste contractor’s specification and current national guidance. Hazardous waste consignments must be accompanied by the required documentation where applicable. Consignment notes, transfer records, collection schedules and contractor licences or registration details must be retained in accordance with legal and organisational requirements.

Staff must not routinely transport clinical or hazardous waste in personal vehicles. Any movement of healthcare waste must only take place where this is lawful, risk assessed, properly documented, correctly packaged and undertaken through approved arrangements.

Sharps Handling and Disposal

Sharps must be disposed of immediately after use at the point of care into an approved sharps container of the correct specification. Sharps containers must be assembled, labelled, used, temporarily closed, stored and finally locked in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, local procedure and waste contractor requirements. Sharps containers must never be used beyond the marked fill line.

Staff must:

• never re-sheath or recap needles unless a safer clinical process specifically requires this and it is supported by an approved risk assessment;
• keep sharps handling to a minimum;
• use safer sharps devices where these are provided;
• ensure sharps containers are located close to the point of use but out of reach of residents, visitors and others at risk;
• report all sharps injuries, near misses, spillages, packaging failures and incorrect segregation immediately.

Any sharps injury or blood and body fluid exposure must be managed promptly in line with the service’s exposure incident procedure, including first aid, urgent medical advice, risk assessment, recording, investigation, support for the affected person and statutory reporting where required.

Storage and Infection Prevention

All waste must be stored and handled in a way that reduces the risk of infection, injury, contamination, odour, leakage and unauthorised access. Internal and external waste receptacles must be fit for purpose, correctly identified where appropriate, kept clean and maintained in a hygienic condition. Waste holding areas must be included in the service’s cleaning schedules, environmental audits and infection prevention monitoring.

Staff must perform hand hygiene before and after handling waste and must use appropriate PPE based on the task and level of contamination risk. Spillages, leakage, torn bags, container defects or contamination of surfaces must be managed immediately using the service’s cleaning, disinfection and decontamination procedures.

The Infection Prevention and Control Lead and the Registered Manager must ensure that waste management forms part of the service’s infection prevention risk assessment, environmental monitoring, outbreak readiness and routine quality assurance processes.

Training and Competence

All relevant staff must receive induction and refresher training appropriate to their role on healthcare waste management and infection prevention and control. Training must cover waste classification, segregation, colour-coding, use of bags and containers, sharps safety, spill response, PPE, hand hygiene, storage requirements, incident reporting, exposure management, documentation and escalation routes.

Competence must be assessed and evidenced through supervision, observation, spot checks, appraisal, incident review and audit findings. Additional training or coaching must be provided where practice falls below the required standard or where processes, legislation, guidance or contractor arrangements change.

Audit and Monitoring

The Registered Manager and Infection Prevention and Control Lead will ensure that waste management is subject to routine and responsive monitoring. This will include, as a minimum:

• waste segregation audits;
• environmental and storage area checks;
• sharps container checks;
• review of incidents, near misses and exposure events;
• contractor documentation checks;
• training compliance monitoring;
• action plans, follow-up and evidence of improvement.

Audit frequency must be based on risk, previous findings, outbreaks, incidents and changes in service delivery, and must not be less than the organisation’s minimum governance standard. Findings must be recorded, reviewed, escalated where necessary and used to improve practice under Regulation 17 – Good governance.

Service User Information and Support

People living in the care home, and where appropriate their relatives or representatives, will be given information in an accessible format about how the service manages waste safely, hygienically and respectfully. The service will take account of dignity, privacy, communication needs, equality considerations and individual risks when managing continence waste, dressings, sharps and other healthcare waste generated through care.

Data Protection and Waste

Waste, packaging, labels and associated documentation must be handled so that confidential or identifiable information is not inappropriately disclosed. Any item containing personal data, medicines information or care-related identifiers must be disposed of or destroyed in accordance with the service’s confidentiality, records management and data protection procedures. Waste transfer and consignment records must be stored securely and retained for the required period.

5. Roles and Responsibilities

The Registered Provider / Registered Manager is responsible for ensuring there are effective systems for the safe management of healthcare waste, including approved contractors, suitable premises and equipment, risk assessment, policies, training, monitoring, recordkeeping and action on findings.

The Infection Prevention and Control Lead is responsible for advising on infection risks linked to waste management, supporting audits, reviewing incidents and ensuring alignment with current IPC guidance.

Nurses and senior staff are responsible for ensuring correct waste segregation, sharps safety, clinical oversight, escalation of concerns and support to other staff.

All staff are responsible for following this policy, using the correct waste stream, wearing appropriate PPE, reporting incidents or defects immediately, attending training and escalating uncertainty about waste classification or disposal.

Contractors are responsible for collecting, transporting and disposing of waste lawfully and in accordance with contractual requirements and current legislation.

6. Risk Assessment
The service will assess and regularly review the risks associated with healthcare waste management. This will include the risks of infection, sharps injury, manual handling injury, incorrect segregation, exposure to blood and body fluids, environmental contamination, inappropriate storage, contractor failure, fire safety issues and unauthorised access.

Risk assessments must take account of the layout of the care home, the needs of people using the service, the types of care delivered, outbreak situations, staffing levels, the availability and location of containers, and the arrangements for collection and disposal. Control measures must be documented, communicated and reviewed after incidents, outbreaks, significant operational change or changes to national guidance.

7. Waste Documentation and Records

The service will maintain accurate, complete and contemporaneous records relating to healthcare waste management. These will include, where relevant, waste audits, environmental checks, incident reports, sharps injury records, training records, contractor details, licences or registration checks, collection logs, waste transfer records and hazardous waste consignment notes. Records must be stored securely and made available for internal review, audit, inspection or investigation as required.

8. Incident Reporting and Escalation

Any waste management incident or near miss must be reported without delay in accordance with the organisation’s incident reporting procedure. This includes sharps injuries, blood and body fluid exposure, incorrect segregation, leaking or damaged bags, overfilled sharps bins, missing or delayed collections, insecure storage, pest contamination, spillages, container defects and unauthorised access to waste.

Incidents must be investigated proportionately, lessons learned must be recorded and shared, and action taken to reduce recurrence. Statutory reporting requirements, including RIDDOR where applicable, must be considered.

9. Policy Review

This policy will be reviewed at least annually and sooner where required by changes in legislation, CQC guidance, national IPC guidance, healthcare waste guidance, waste contractor arrangements, service delivery, incident trends, outbreaks or audit findings. The Registered Manager is responsible for ensuring that the current version is implemented, communicated to staff and supported by training, supervision and monitoring.

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Responsible Person: {{org_field_registered_manager_first_name}} {{org_field_registered_manager_last_name}}
Reviewed on: {{last_update_date}}
Next Review Date: {{next_review_date}}
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