Staff Workload and Delays in Solid Medical Waste Management in A Hospital
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37287/ijghr.v8i6.2839Keywords:
delay, hospital, medical waste management, staffing, workloadAbstract
Delays in solid medical waste management allow waste to accumulate in temporary storage and raise health and environmental risks, and staff workload is a plausible but poorly explained contributor. Objective to explore how staff workload contributes to delays in solid medical waste management at Tk II Prof. Dr. J. A. Latumeten Hospital, Ambon, Indonesia. A qualitative case study was conducted in July 2026. Seven informants directly involved in waste management were interviewed in depth, and observation and document review supplemented the interviews. Data were analysed through data reduction, data display and conclusion drawing. Only two officers handled solid medical waste, without shift arrangements. Four themes explained how workload led to delay: a limited number of staff, concurrent duties, rising waste volume and an unstructured work schedule. These pressures delayed collection and transport from wards to the temporary storage facility, and they interacted with the lack of an incinerator and irregular third-party transport. Perceptions differed by role. Workload is a dominant cause of delay in this hospital.
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