Plano de gerenciamento de resíduos dos serviços de saúde em hospitais de Santa Maria - RS: uma análise comparativa

Abstract

The health sector is characterized by the lack of financial resources, the neglect with which it is conducted by managers and the tiny surveillance of health agencies. But environmental legislation and society itself have charged more responsibility, especially due to the generation of waste and its subsequent disposal in the environment without proper control, which originate serious environmental problems, favoring the incorporation of contaminants in the food chain, interacting processes natural physical, chemical, leading to dispersion (ESTEVES, 2007). In the healthcare industry, society's concerns about the environment and the rapid advancement of Brazilian environmental legislation amplify the pressures of government agencies. The biggest challenge for the hospital segment is maintaining the balance of a difficult equation that involves improving the quality of services with the lowest economic, environmental and social cost present in all stages (FREITAS, 2003). In this context, this study aims to make a comparative analysis of the Waste Plan Health Services four hospitals in Santa Maria identifying environmental management practices Management. To meet this goal, the literature review resources, documentary research, observation on the desktop and application of an instrument of data collection were used. The methodology employed was a multiple case analysis and data collection occurred through semi - structured interviews, analyzed using the content analysis method. The results of this study revealed that there is no uniformity of hospital departments involved in environmental issues , it was observed that , in each hospital , its composition is different, which can be explained by the fact that it is still a concern in this new environment and therefore need greater attention . One can also notice that none of the officials who are leading this activity has specific training. As for Waste Management of Health Services, was observed in the four hospitals studied a more homogeneous behavior and appropriate management in the separation and disposal of wastes from healthcare services, explained by enforcement. The benefits found cover waste reduction, the use of environmentally friendly materials, reducing costs, eliminating waste, creating environment-related programs, contributing to the conservation of natural resources, human health and the environment. The biggest problems facing hospitals in this area are adjusting their structures, limited human and financial resources allocated to this area, the lack of awareness and commitment of staff and physicians.