Who Can Use the HTM 07-01 to Navigate Waste Management?
What would you say if we told you there’s a tool to help you navigate waste management?
Whether you’re a butcher, a baker…
Whether you’re a doctor, a porter, or a clinical executive, the updated HTM 07-01 guidance is your tool for navigating healthcare waste efficiently and in compliance with legislation.
The guidance benefits all healthcare workers, not only those directly involved with managing waste. It’s no mere rulebook filled with technical jargon – it’s your compass to a safer, more sustainable healthcare industry.
So, how can you personally benefit from using the updated health technical memorandum?
TOPICS WE WILL COVER:
4 / Estates and Facilities Directors
8 / Pharmacists and Pharmacy Staff
9 / Maintaining compliance within waste management.
10 / Looking for healthcare waste guidance?
Waste Handling Staff
Waste-handling staff such as porters, domestic services, and housekeeping play a pivotal part in hospital hygiene.
Your role goes beyond moving bins and cleaning spillages – you ensure that waste is managed safely and that hospital hygiene is maintained to prevent cross-contamination and reduce infection risks.
The HTM 07-01 will benefit you by helping you further refine your waste management practices with a renewed focus on correct segregation – contributing to infection prevention measures and making waste safer to handle.
You’ll also be contributing to staff and patient safety and well-being throughout your facility by promoting a cleaner and safer healthcare environment.
A key section you can benefit from is Technical approach.
This section contains detailed information on how to correctly identify and manage clinical, non-clinical, and offensive wastes.
As well as providing insight on classifying and segregating your healthcare waste, there’s also helpful information on handling waste safely.
Clinical Staff
Clinical staff including nurses and doctors form the cornerstone of patient care in healthcare facilities.
Your role involves various medical procedures, each generating its own set of waste materials – always mindful that your clinical actions don’t inadvertently cause harm through improper waste handling or incorrect disposal.
The HTM 07-01 will help you incorporate the guidance’s recommendations on waste segregation and disposal into your daily practices – helping to prevent the spread of infections and make the care environment safer for both patients and staff.
This will enable your provision of care to extend far beyond diagnosis and treatment alone – keeping your patients cared for whilst providing a safer and more comfortable experience.
A key section you can benefit from is Technical approach.
This section contains detailed information on how to classify and correctly segregate healthcare waste according to its type and which stream it belongs to, whether that’s clinical, non-clinical, or offensive waste.
Waste Managers
Waste Managers are an important cog in the healthcare machine that enables the smooth execution of operations.
Your role encompasses the oversight of all things waste-related – driving the responsible and correct management of healthcare waste throughout your facility to ensure it’s segregated, handled, stored, and transported in line with regulations.
The HTM 07-01 is your toolbox for refining your waste management strategies and fine-tuning your organisation’s processes with a structured framework that encourages compliance and efficiency, driving site-wide improvements.
You’ll foster a culture of awareness, equipping staff with waste management knowledge that eases the financial and environmental burden of overtreating waste.
A key section you can benefit from is Strategic objectives.
This section contains detailed information on the NHS Clinical Waste Strategy and Net Zero which can help you outline your strategic approach to waste management and the targets you aim to achieve.
You’ll also benefit from Management approach.
This section offers guidance on in-house services and your waste management policy, as well as helpful information on contract management and training.
Estates and Facilities Directors/Managers
Estates and Facilities Managers and Directors are a vital component in maintaining the physical environment of healthcare facilities.
Your role involves ensuring the backstage processes of a healthcare facility run smoothly and that space is used efficiently – often responsible for establishing on-site waste infrastructure and systems.
The HTM 07-01 is your guide for creating an efficient waste management system that aligns with safety regulations and compliance standards, helping you implement effective protocols that make waste management easier for clinical staff and waste handlers.
You’ll be able to help streamline the safe and compliant management of waste whilst aiding the most practical use of the limited space within your facility.
A key section you can benefit from is Management approach.
This section contains detailed information on in-house services and compliance, supporting you when establishing and managing on-site waste management infrastructure and services whilst ensuring compliance.
Health and Safety Staff
Health and safety staff are crucial for minimising the risks of accidents, work-related illnesses, and injuries within the healthcare environment.
Your role includes bridging the gap between waste management and the larger framework of workplace safety – ensuring waste disposal and handling practices are carried out in a safe manner that aligns with regulations.
The HTM 07-01 outlines precise guidelines, giving you an extra tool in your belt for keeping the workplace safe for all. It also enables you to collaborate with other departments to keep waste management practices aligned with health and safety protocols.
When waste is correctly classified and staff understand how to dispose of different waste types properly, the healthcare environment becomes a much healthier and safer place.
A key section you can benefit from is Management approach.
This section contains detailed information on managing risk, training, and emergency preparedness – three essential aspects of maintaining workplace health and safety within the healthcare environment.
Procurement Managers
Procurement Managers hold a key position as the architects of supply chains to ensure their organisations have access to the materials and services they need.
Your role covers far more than acquiring the supplies and services necessary for operations – it’s about building relationships and establishing partnerships with suppliers willing to do more than simply sell you a solution.
The HTM 07-01 can aid your decision-making when sourcing waste management products and services, helping you secure cost-effective goods that meet the highest standards of compliance without sacrificing safety and sustainability.
This will help you make purchasing decisions that leave a lasting impression on your organisation’s environmental impact even before introducing any new solutions.
A key section you can benefit from is Strategic objectives.
This section contains detailed information on circular economy, sustainable procurement practices, NHS Supply Chain, and environmental impact and social outcomes.
The waste hierarchy is another important area that can help you make sustainable purchasing decisions.
Clinical Executives
Clinical Executives are big decision-makers in the healthcare world and that comes with both a weighty sense of responsibility and accountability.
Your role makes you responsible for a multitude of areas and waste management may seem like a minor element amongst patient experience, resource allocation, and strategic decision-making – but left unchecked, it can be expensive and demanding.
The HTM 07-01 can be used to help shape your organisation's strategies and contribute to a safer healthcare environment for patients and staff whilst you rest assured that your facility is operating as it should and maintaining compliance.
You’ll also be equipped to reduce your environmental impact and enhance your reputation as a responsible healthcare provider
A key section you can benefit from is Strategic objectives.
This section contains detailed information on the NHS Clinical Waste Strategy and Net Zero which can help form the overarching strategy for your organisation and how waste management ties into that.
Pharmacists and Pharmacy Staff
Pharmacists and pharmacy staff are fundamental to patient care and play a vital role in patient and environmental safety.
Your role involves more than dispensing prescriptions, you also have waste management responsibilities – ensuring pharmaceutical waste is minimised, disposed of safely, and kept out of the wrong hands.
The HTM 07-01 can enhance your day-to-day operations and improve compliant segregation of pharmaceutical waste at source, helping you ensure waste is managed responsibly from your pharmacy through to its final destination.
This will contribute to improved waste management efficiency and reduced risks when it comes to disposing of materials such as expired or unused medications.
A key section you can benefit from is Management approach.
This section contains detailed information on managing risk, training, and compliance which are all vital facets of compliant and effective waste management wherever pharmaceuticals are involved.
Maintaining Compliance Within Waste Management
Remember, compliance is of the utmost importance, not just from a financial and legal standpoint, but also for the safety of your fellow healthcare workers and patients.
It’s also evident that everyone in the healthcare environment has a role in waste management and can benefit from using the updated HTM 07-01.
Trying to navigate waste management without the use of this guidance can result in costly non-conformances that may have legal consequences and a detrimental effect on the atmosphere of your facility.
From helping you understand the waste hierarchy and reducing waste to giving you the tools you need for sustainable procurement – it’s your compass for navigating waste management and maintaining compliance.
Looking for Healthcare Waste Guidance?
As helpful as technical guidance is when it comes to doing things the right way, it can sometimes be hard to understand or difficult to teach others.
Our expert waste consultants can help you get the most out of the HTM 07-01 and impart that knowledge to other healthcare workers through our unique blended learning approach and educational materials.
If you’d like help or advice with compliant, safe, and sustainable healthcare waste management, contact us today.
Josh Glover
Content Specialist
As a natural storyteller driven by curiosity, Josh aims to educate and engage through informative and thought-provoking content; working towards a safer and more sustainable healthcare system.