Bhutan’s Ministry of Health sent two of its engineers to undergo training on healthcare waste management at the Philippines’ Maria Reyna Xavier University Hospital (MRXUH) in Cagayan De Oro City. Engineers Man Badhur Darjee and Dhan Raj Limbu attended the 12-day training seminar, which took place on June 30 to July 11.
The comprehensive training program included Materials Recovery Facility Set-up; Management for Solid, Liquid, Oncology Wastes; Monitoring and Documentation. Engineers Man Badhur Darjee and Dhan Raj Limbu also attended a hands-on demonstrations of MRXHU's autoclave, which is used for wastewater treatment and processing infectious wastes.
The MRXUH is in a good position to provide instruction and guidance to other Asian health institutions. The hospital was featured in the report From the Backyard to the Frontline: Initiatives of Philippine Hospital Workers on Best Environmental Practices, which was co-authored by HCWH-Asia and UNDP Global Environment Facility Project on Global Healthcare Waste. The report presented the positive steps the MRXUH took in waste management, including materials recovery and recycling, banning of polystyrene foam packaging, composting, and encapsulation of autoclaved sharps waste.
Bhutan has also made great steps to promoting cleaner healthcare. The South Asian country has answered the call for the substitution of mercury devices in healthcare.
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The Maria Reyna Xavier University Hospital is part of the Saint Paul de Chartres Health Care Ministry and is an active member of the Global Green and Healthy Hospitals Network (GGHH).