EC Clinical and Medical Case Reports

Background: Environmental health services (EHS) in healthcare facilities (HCFs) - such as sanitation, water, HCW management, hygiene, hand washing, food control, vector control and air quality if properly managed will prevent the transmission of contamination from person-to-person and person-to-environment, vice versa.

Healthcare waste should not cause any adverse impacts on human health or the environment. Medical waste management is complex and success is in large part dependent on changing the habits of hospital staff in this regard, waste reduction and proper segregation is essential. By properly sorting and reducing waste, hospitals not only avoid disposal costs and environmental hazards; they are often able to recycle a large proportion of their non-medical waste, reducing the amount of raw materials, energy and processing needed to replace the products they use. On the other hand, when hazardous medical and non-medical waste are mixed together, hospitals end up paying additional charges to dispose of increased volumes of medical waste, which can amount to many times the cost of disposing of non-medical waste.

Objective: The objective of this study is to assess the national situation of environmental health services in health care facilities in Sudan.

Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study implemented, using survey to analysis the situation of HCW in five hospitals in Khartoum state and at Gazira, North Dafour, South dafrour and North Kordfan. the national documents for environmental health services in health care facilities reviewed at center and state level.

Results: Policy for environmental health services in health care facilities issued at central level, specific laws and legislations including environmental health law 2009, federal Ministry of Health; Hazardous waste regulation issued 2014; nuclear energy law 2005; environmental protection law, 2001; public health law2008; labor law and Khartoum SMOH, health care-waste regulation in 2005 were available. Beside that National Environmental Health Strategic Plan 2014 to 2019 was developed. On the other hand, the surveys show that 39% of workers know the hazardous of health care waste and 98% of nurses know the importance of not recover the needle, 7.5% of workers stated that they infected with infectious hepatitis and in some hospital 98% of workers immune against infectious hepatitis. The ratio of hospital per 100,000 population is 1.3 and ratio of beds per 100.000 population is 81.5.

Human resources (public health officers) in the health facilities are limited in large hospitals, since the last of 2013 the states started to employee public health officers to deal with EH activities inside the hospitals. In some state the EH unit exist in large and teaching hospitals and public health officers is responsible for the unit but need to build the capacity. According to the unstable situation of economic and political the turner offer of staff is very high.

Conclusion: Although the policy, strategy, different law and regulation developed but there is no follow up mechanism established, more over the environmental health services in health care facilities is very poor and the risk for staff, patients and community is high and need clear and urgent interventions to eliminate or reduce the risk.

Keywords: Environmental Management System (EMS); Healthcare Facilities (HCFs); Environmental Health Services (EHS)

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