David Williams, Senior Environmental Manager, SRCL

Why does it matter?

• Why is the future of healthcare waste so important?

- Produced by all... AND - Matters to all ...

Changing landscapes

• Delivery of healthcare is changing• Not just secondary care• More community-led primary care• Improved out-of-hours care to

reduce preventable attendance• Removing barriers between health

and social care • Integrated care is needed• Activity is up significantly in all

areas

Recycled cardboard boxes

Reusable sharps containers

Flock as an alternative fuel source

Flock as an alternativefuel source

=

60,000 tonnes flock 245,900 barrels of oilprevented from being used

Regulators

• The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the main independent regulator of all health and social care services in England.

• CQC inspection covers all healthcare activities including waste.

• Examples of where poor waste handling could affect an outcome during the CQC audit are:- Outcome 10: Safety and suitability of premises

- Outcome 14: Supporting workers

Changes to CQC inspections

• The CQC is making radical changes to the way they inspect and regulate health and social care services to make sure they provide people with safe, effective, compassionate and high-quality care, and to encourage them to make improvements

• “Experts by Experience”• Introducing “national teams” in NHS hospitals

Cutting regulation: One-in, two-out

The ‘Seventh statement of new regulation’ (January to June 2014) sets out the:• Incoming regulation that the government intends to

implement over the next 6 months• Our performance under one-in, two-out up to the end of 2013From 1 January 2014 to 30 June 2014 the government intends to bring in 73 measures (16 regulatory, 27 deregulatory and 30 zero net cost). The net cumulative saving to business from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2013 is currently around £1.2 billion.

Cutting Red Tape

Vastly reduced guidance

• 380 pages of waste management rules dropped• The Government’s Red Tape Challenge: 80,000 pages of

environmental guidance slashed by March 2015

DEFRA

• DEFRA’s reform on waste management guidance

“The government and its regulators are simplifying all environmental guidance to make it quicker to

understand and easier to use. Environmental rules are not being changed – the idea is to explain the

law and policy more clearly.”

EA Job Cuts

• 1700 job losses in the next 12 months

• Follows on from 36% real terms budget reduction from 2010

for DEFRA

What is the industry doing

• The emergence of more specific, practical tools by industry leaders and stakeholders.

• They are bridging the gap

Work smarter

• Work smarter, not harder to manage your waste • Segregation – Don’t over complicate it - It still has to be

practical • Internal audit works• Buy-in is required at ward level, not just board level and vice

versa

Delivering it all

• Healthcare activity will continue to increase, but control will increasingly be transferred to the primary/community care sector, with new providers entering the marketplace

• Waste management needs will become more complex as a result, but services will have to be compliant, commercially and environmentally sustainable.

• Government will reduce regulatory guidance and support, but will still expect compliance.

• The industry is adapting to meet these needs with a range of measures.

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