Trash Chute Door2106679
Wow… What a scary website to see. Trash bags caught in the trash chute in such a way that it prevents the chute doors from automatically closing. And make no mistake about it, the trash chute doors are needed to close and latch, automatically.
Section 19.5.4.3 of the 2000 edition of the Life Security Code demands trash chutes to discharge into trash collection rooms and the trash collection rooms can't be utilized for any other purpose. So, that means you cannot store items that are not related to the trash chute in the space, such as floor scrubber machines.
The scene in the image is generally brought on by the failure to empty the cart in time, prior to it fills up to the point exactly where the bags of trash prevent the chute doors from closing. In today’s economy, it is not all that uncommon to discover that employees reductions in the Environmental Solutions (housekeeping) department prevent adequate staffing to remove the trash bags. While this might be a reputable reason, someone at this hospital forgot the importance of removing the trash on a normal basis. They need to make this a priority.
From a life security point of view, it would be much better to eliminate the cart and permit the bags to fall onto the floor. This way it would take a lot more bags of trash to pile up prior to it would obstruct the chute door from closing. I’m not certain what the hospital’s Infection Manage professional would say about that, but I would suggest it as an alternative if the ES department cannot empty the cart often enough.
If you decide to allow the bags of trash to accumulate on the floor in the trash chute discharge space, I recommend you conduct a risk assessment to analyze the dangers to patient security. This way, you can demonstrate to a surveyor that the risks were regarded as if the surveyor has a issue with bags o’ trash scattered on the floor.
