2019 Recycling and Waste Management Awards

BUILD 2019 Recycling and Waste Management Awards 18 Oct19401 harpsmart Ltd is defining the future for the safe management of healthcare waste. Incepted 18 years ago, founder Dan Daniels, had a vision for a safe and sustainable solution to the management of healthcare waste. This vision initially came to him 32 years ago when he set out with a team of clinicians to tackle what they saw as a major issue affecting hospitals and healthcare facilities all over the world. Needlestick injuries, cross-contamination risk, and a huge detrimental effect on the environment were, seemingly, the unavoidable consequence of the routine ward-level disposal and management of healthcare waste. Daniel Roper, Internal Sales & Marketing Manager, tells us more about this initial vision and how it came to fruition. “In 1986, Dan Daniels was introduced to a reality facing Australian nurses that he felt was too big to ignore, rising needlestick injury counts and the associated risks of HIV contraction. Working with healthcare practitioners, infection control experts, microbiologists and a team of highly skilled engineers, Dan innovated a solution – the Sharpsmart container, which in 30+ years is still unrivalled as the safest and only sharps containment system in the world that classifies as a safety-engineered device.” It is, and always has been, the firm’s core product and this reusable sharps container is clinically proven to reduce sharps injuries and eliminate more than 32% of sharps waste. It has helped facilities across the UK to reduce sharps injuries by a minimum of 25% in year 1, decrease CO2 emissions by 91%, stay compliant and reduce procurement and disposal costs. Today, from safety-engineered sharps containers, to comprehensive waste collections, each of the solutions supplied by Sharpsmart has been specifically engineered to help hospitals and other healthcare facilities meet, and indeed exceed, their goals in the critical areas of Safety, Sustainability, Efficiency, Compliance, and Education. Amongst Sharpsmart’s other products is the Bag-to-Bedside system, which is an innovative way to deal with waste that is generated at a patient’s bedside. Comprising of a range of bespoke components and blended learning tools, the solution is designed to safely contain and divert waste at the point of generation – helping to significantly reduce costs. S “All Sharpsmart solutions are benchmarked to achieve the highest degree of ecological sustainability,” Mr Roper continues. “As a business, we are committed to minimising the environmental burden of healthcare-generated waste.” The company’s overwhelming success, comes from the ‘4-walls clinical approach’ which the firm has adopted. “This includes the development of a system-wide waste plan, and aligned KPIs, which are consistently monitored and adjusted throughout the partnership to provide full visibility of our performance,” states Roper. There are five steps to Sharpsmart’s approach: 1. Planning & KPI development: Prior to the partnership commencing, Sharpsmart will review the healthcare organisation’s current waste plan and disposal trends to understand where there are potential ‘gaps’, as well as opportunities for improving existing waste management procedures. 2. Optimised total waste segregation, disposal, and containment systems: Sharpsmart’s premium range of clinically designed products and services will deliver integrated value at the point of care, ensuring that the partnership supports the healthcare facility in achieving its identified goals (the ‘5 needs’ KPIs). 3. Development of a bespoke education and compliance package: Following identification of KPIs and contracted products and services, Sharpsmart will utilise its proven methodology to deliver ‘touch-point’ education (through Blended Learning). These education methods ensure that staff competency is achieved, while minimising the time that healthcare workers are away from patient care. 4. Verification of KPI performance: Designed to consistently validate Sharpsmart’s partnership performance in relating to the ‘5 needs’ of healthcare waste management. ‘Verify’ encompasses regular onsite (department-level) checks, audits, and training, throughout the contract partnership. 5. Continuous improvement: Following consistent compilation of audit data and contract performance (related to the ‘5 needs’ KPIs from step 2), a quarterly review meeting will take place with key department leads, where the strategy for the following quarter will be discussed and agreed. Sharpsmart Ltd Best Pharmaceutical Waste Disposal Company - UK We speak to Internal Sales & Marketing Manager, Daniel Roper, about innovative firm, Sharpsmart, in the wake of it being awarded Best Pharmaceutical Waste Disposal Company – UK.