In 2010 Limerick Clare Kerry Regional Waste Management Office began working on resource efficiency in the healthcare sector, specifically with the Milford Care Centre, in Castletroy, Limerick.
Milford Care Centre is a 230 bed palliative care centre & nursing home. Waste management costs were escalating in the facility at this time and this was partly attributable to the opening of new day care facilities although not entirely as waste auditing quickly highlighted the need for improved segregation techniques and less wasteful practices.
For example supplies of nutritional drinks when prescribed for patients were requested in batches, in many cases the patient would either improve & go back on solid food or deteriorate – either way the drinks were not being returned to supplies, instead discarded. (see photo, click to enlarge). This practice ceased as a result of this project.
A full resource efficiency report was produced looking at the material flows into and out of the facility, the main sources of waste and identifying many waste prevention opportunities. The work carried out in this facility helped to further develop methodologies and results which ultimately led into the work carried out in the Green Healthcare Programme (www.greenhealthcare.ie)
For further information contact:
Pauline McDonogh
Regional Waste Prevention Co-ordinator
Southern Region Waste Management Office
Tel: 061 496844/0872755538