Trash Chute Door9583871
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 required to close and latch, automatically.
Section 19.5.four.3 of the 2000 edition of the Life Security Code requires trash chutes to discharge into trash collection rooms and the trash collection rooms cannot be used for any other purpose. So, that means you can't store products that are not related to the trash chute in the space, such as floor scrubber machines.
The scene in the image is commonly caused 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 staff reductions in the Environmental Solutions (housekeeping) division stop sufficient staffing to remove the trash bags. While this might be a reputable purpose, somebody 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 better to eliminate the cart and permit the bags to fall onto the floor. This way it would take a lot much 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 Control expert would say about that, but I would suggest it as an alternative if the ES division cannot empty the cart frequently sufficient.
If you decide to permit 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 risks to patient safety. This way, you can demonstrate to a surveyor that the risks had been considered if the surveyor has a issue with bags o’ trash scattered on the floor.
