Essay Example on Drug Injection in Public Washrooms: A Sanitary Problem

Introduction

It is evident that drug users use injections in public washroom facilities to induce drug substance into their bloodstream. At the same time, many patients utilize self-injection method as advised by their healthcare practitioners, based on different illnesses that they have. After the process, they have to dispose the needles into a cubicle, place into feminine hygiene unit, flush it down the toilet, or leave it lying on the floor of the bathrooms. This becomes a problem to the sanitation personnel who must ensure that the "sharp" needles are disposed of appropriately (Devaney, Madonna, and Lynda 148). The need to provide dispose of bins in bathrooms is potentially controversial and interesting in equal measures. This is because different groups have varied perceptions on the issue of providing disposal bins in washrooms. On one side, this activity encourages awareness for health and safety to people using the sharp needles, and on the other side, people believe that the provision of bins in washrooms promote harmful recreational activities such as drug abuse. Many heroin addicts tend to use this opportunity to inject heroin into their blood, and this raises concern on the strides made towards the fight against drug abuse. It can be argued that installing the bins provides a safe disposal method, but on the other hand, it does nothing to the addicts; taking advantage of the public toilets for their illegal activities. Starbucks is one organization that has suffered from the issue of needle disposal in bathrooms (Myers 118). The coffee giant has had numerous cases of careless needle disposal in the washrooms. This is a societal issue and to a large extent places the employees in a dangerous situation which calls for the need to install measures that will ensure the employees are out of danger. One policy that the establishment has implemented is intensive training of the employees to enable them to deal with hypodermic needles disposed of in the washrooms. At the same time, the employees have been encouraged to take antiviral medications which are aimed at preventing contact of HIV and hepatitis.

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With the increasing number of people with self-inject prescriptions, there has been an increase in needles disposed of, and this poses health risks to other people. This is expected to rise further in the coming years. Despite the increase, there are no appropriate safe disposal options that can help maintain the safety of others. In the U.S, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends that items like used needles should be disposed of in approved packages and transported to a facility for proper disposal and ultimate destruction. Nevertheless, these services are often unavailable hence the prevailing dangers and increasing risk concerns to the workers involved with the cleanup. In different states, the existing policies and regulations on the disposal and collection of the syringe are inconsistent and has barriers to the realization of safe disposal. As a result, there is a need to implement a holistic policy that cuts across all states; a policy that promotes community syringe collection is fundamental. The costs and lack of appropriate disposal mechanisms have also contributed to the improper disposal leading to health concerns to the trash collector as well as the pets that get into the garbage. There are health risks of transferring diseases and possible injuries which affects the smooth operation in the organization. To ensure the safety of everyone, FDA policy states that needles used for injections or blood test should be disposed of in approved sharps containers. This should be done immediately after use to reduce the risk of cuts or punctures to others and prevent the spread of the blood-borne pathogen.

Needle Disposal Programs and Policy

Even though it is legal to use sharp containers at the thrash collection sites, some organizations see this as a health risk to the well-being of the drug users. Initially, it was recommended that medical sharps be disposed of using the mail-back program. With this system, the needles were sent via mail for proper disposal as the shipping cost is invoiced together with the total price of the sharps container. This method helped achieve a drastic reduction in the number of cases related to poorly displaced needles. Despite the prevailing awareness on the need to facilitate proper disposal, there were no sustainable policies that would ensure needles are disposed of correctly (Parkin, Stephen and Ross 1219). Patients with cancer, HIV, Hepatitis and other infectious diseases often disposed of the needles carelessly thereby creating a health risk to other employees working in the washrooms. Improper disposal puts a wide range of people at risk for injury and possible transmittal of diseases.

As a first step, it is fundamental to strategically place bins at the bathrooms to facilitate easy collection and disposal of needles. In many instances, the materials management department at the organization will have to purchase and deliver the disposal bins and manage the effective disposal of infectious waste. When the bin is filled, the concerned employees will replace the full containers with empty bins as the content of the filled bin is take for final disposal and final destruction. If this is done repetitively, there will be limited cases of injuries as a result of careless disposal of needles (Keene 36). In the long run, there will be an efficient waste management system that helps eliminate unnecessary handling of needles and injuries. As suggested in the FDA policy framework, the use of the best practice in the working environment will also reduce litigation and compensation costs. With the traditional needle collection approach that involved mail, much of the responsibility was left on the patient and other people using the needles.

The need for safe needle disposal system is paramount, and as many injuries are registered on a daily basis, many governments and private business entities such as Starbucks need solutions that will ensure the safety of their employees and the public at large. The strategic location of needle bins at public parks and transit stations will help reduce the injuries and possible contamination. Besides the dispose bins, sharps containers and FDA-cleared boxes which are made from rigid plastic can be used in mitigating injuries and infections. With the safe disposal measure, there will be limited medical and liability costs which, to a large extent can affect the profitability of the healthcare facility or the establishment such as Starbucks. Injured employees and other clients have the propensity of filing legal claims which run into millions of dollars. The injuries incurred from the needle injuries are not only dangerous but are also expensive. A study of the injuries incurred from the recycling reveals that a total of $2.3 million is inquired in direct medical expenses annually. Individual costs range from several hundred to thousand dollars (Wenger 485). When it comes to liability costs in the event that the affected sues the organization, the costs are even much higher. Besides the financial loses, the reputation of the organization in question is also affected.

In recent years, there has been a rise in the number of needle disposal bins at the gas stations or public bathrooms. This is attributed to the fact that 1 in every 10 Americans has diabetes; many of whom require a daily injection of insulin to manage their condition. This, together with the opioid diseases, has made it more fundamental for companies to install needle bins to separate used needles from other waste substances (Parkin 15). This means that used syringes should be handled as normal medical waste materials and incinerated to avoid contaminations with other forms of waster which can otherwise cause injuries and infections to the sanitation personnel. This creates the necessity to provide disposal bins in the bathrooms. The large problem around the mismanagement of used needles revolves around the harm the needle inflict on the people who handle the waste. The waste management workers are at risk when the needles are left on the floor of the washroom or pilled with other normal waste. Even though the risk of contracting an infection from a single needle is significantly low, the stress that comes when employees are tested for blood-borne diseases is too high (Jagger 64). In other words, the need for proper handling of used needles at any place makes a lot of sense. It is for this reason that massive brands like Starbucks has installed sharp containers at their washrooms to protect their customers.

Sharps-management program can also help manage the prevailing issues with careless needle disposal. The national effort will ensure consistency in collection and disposal across all states. At the same time, pharmacists need to aid in safe disposal by counseling their patients on the importance of safe dispose of, selling or giving then sharp containers. A pharmacist can also engage with other stakeholders in sensitizing the public on the policies, providing clarification on laws and regulations designed to keep the needles out of thrash and consider them as infectious waste. The policy, sharps-management initiative using reusable sharps containers and trained personnel in handling used needles will help reduce injuries. Through the use of the programs and the implementation of the policies, service technicians will be able to visit the washrooms on pre-established timetable to change the sharp containers before they are filled with needles. The formulation and implementation of the sharps-management program will play a critical part in the needle disposal process (Jagger 64). The sharps management policy will be a solution to hygiene and infection control in public utilities, the healthcare sector and beyond. There is a need for health care practitioners to sensitize the public on the importance of proper disposal since the frontline workers are vulnerable to injuries and infections compared to other employees and patients. An audit of injuries shows that clinical waste handlers have the highest cases of injuries from poor needle disposal methods. This is similar to other public washrooms where drug users find it easier to perform self-injection and throw the used needles on the floor or flush it down the toilet. To a large extent, therefore, when they find needle disposal bin, they will appropriately dispose of the needles for easier collection and final disposal.

Alternative Policy

An alternative policy involves tough laws on the use of needles. In this case, health care practitioners will have to device other ways to perform procedures requiring needles and provide alternative methods for diabetic patients. An alternative is to replace the regular needle used by diabetic patients with blunt end needles. The improper use of the needles increases the risk of sustaining injuries and infections, but with the introduction of the blunt end needles as part of the policy framework, there will be limited cases of injuries and infections caused by needles.

It is also important to strategically place the disposal bins in areas that they can be accessed. Evidence shows that an ideal location can be the patient's washrooms and wards. This will encourage effective disposal and collection of filled bins to avoid recapping as this has led to injuries. According to WHO best practice policy, disposal bins should be collected for disposal when three-quarter full (WHO & SIGN 27). They should not be filled to the brim as this increases the vulnerability for injuries during movement to the final disposal sites. The sharps management program is the most effective approach towards the management of used ne...