Assessment of Environmental Health Services in the White Nile State main hospitals, Sudan

Abstract

Hospital environmental sanitation plays an important role in controlling infection inside the hospitals for patients, visitors, staff, and community. In order to prevent hospitals infection certain measures should be followed such as, maintaining a hygienic internal and external hospital environment. Descriptive study conducted in Kosti, Rabak, and Eduiem hospitals represent the main hospitals at White Nile State in Sudan. The study aimed at the assessment of environmental sanitation. A descriptive study design to assess the environmental sanitation at the three selected hospitalsAn assessment checklist, pre-designed and published by the WHO in 2008.Observation sheet, a predesigned and precoded structural interviewing questionnaire were used to investigate the environmental health aspects at the three hospitals, assess the main site characteristics, outside and inside sources of environmental pollution were assessed in the three hospitals.The employees were interviewed regarding environmental services. The study results showed that the three hospitals are located at an easily accessible site. There were no paved roads surrounding the three hospitals, there is no barking areas and no landscaping, there are no sources of pollution as ( public toilets, markets, refuse containers, sewage overflow, barns and stables, factories, railway station, bus stop, cemeteries, garbage dump sites, water treatment plant, wastewater treatment plants, mobile telephone stations, high voltage transmission, and industrial area) in two of the three hospitals (Rabak and Eduiem hospitals), markets, bus stops, and mobile telephone station are near Kosti hospital. Adequacy of ventilation, sufficiency of lighting, and noise general scores, poor in Kosti hospital (45.5%) and fair in Rabak and Eduiem hospitals (54.5%). Laundry services and kitchens were not applicable in the three hospitals. The level of cleanliness in wards and operation areas is good in the three hospitals. Mice, cockroaches, housefly, cats were present in the three hospitals and donkey in Kosti and Eduiem hospitals. Insecticides used as vector control in the three hospitals.

The study recommended that surrounding building should be maintained to provide full protection from animals entering the hospitals, sufficient, maintained, and cleaned toilets,good lighting both natural and artificial, ventilation and cleaning must be of a high standard in hospital units.Laundry and kitchens must be initiated in well-designed taken into account health and environmental requirements needs