Trash Chute Door3158332
Wow… What a scary site 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 error about it, the trash chute doors are needed to close and latch, automatically.
Section 19.5.4.three 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 used for any other purpose. So, that indicates you cannot store products that are not associated to the trash chute in the space, such as floor scrubber machines.
The scene in the picture is commonly brought on by the failure to empty the cart in time, before it fills up to the point where the bags of trash stop the chute doors from closing. In today’s economy, it is not all that uncommon to discover that staff reductions in the Environmental Services (housekeeping) department stop sufficient staffing to eliminate the trash bags. Whilst this may be a reputable purpose, someone at this hospital forgot the importance of removing the trash on a regular basis. They require to make this a priority.
From a life safety point of view, it would be much better to remove the cart and allow the bags to fall onto the floor. This way it would take a lot more bags of trash to pile up before it would obstruct the chute door from closing. I’m not sure what the hospital’s Infection Manage expert would say about that, but I would recommend it as an alternative if the ES department cannot empty the cart often sufficient.
If you determine to permit the bags of trash to accumulate on the floor in the trash chute discharge space, I recommend you conduct a danger assessment to analyze the risks to patient safety. This way, you can demonstrate to a surveyor that the dangers were considered if the surveyor has a problem with bags o’ trash scattered on the floor.
