Needlestick/Sharps Injury
Needlestick accidents occur when healthcare workers
jab themselves or a colleague with a needle, or other sharp medical
device, which is contaminated with potentially infected blood. The
type of infections they risk include Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and
HIV.
The results of a new survey* carried out by UNISON into the use of
safe needles in the NHS, shows that many trusts put short term
costs before the long-term protection of staff health. The survey
also revealed that UNISON is the driving force behind promoting
safer needles in the NHS, with 56% saying that the union initiated
the move towards their use.
In response, ABHI formed the Needlesticks and Sharps Injuries
SIS.
The group have subscribed to the Eucomed Position Paper, which
draws attention to the obligations of the various stakeholders in
relation to these risks, emphasises the value of effective
training, education, and safe working practices, and promotes the
use of safety engineered medical technologies. The group plan to
develop a national awareness campaign.
The facts are not pleasant reading. The risk of transmission from a
needle stick or other sharps injury, where an infected patient has
contaminated the needle, is 1 in 3 workers for Hepatitis B, 1 in 30
workers for Hepatitis C and 1 in 300 workers for HIV. The Hepatitis
C virus (HCV) is ten times more transmissible than HIV and there is
currently no vaccine available. A lengthy process of
psychologically trying diagnostic procedures must be followed
before it is known whether a serious disease has been contracted or
not.
Beyond the ethical considerations, there is a growing body of
related law that applies to healthcare providers. Council Directive
89/391/EEC concerning the Safety and Health of Workers requires
that, if risks cannot be totally eliminated, they must be combated
at source. Council Directive 89/655/EEC deals with Work Equipment
and obliges employers to provide a safe working environment. More
recently, EU Council Directive 2000/54/EC has consolidated European
law concerning Biological Agents. Employers must assess risk and
prevent workers' exposure to biological risks or, if prevention is
not technically practicable, reduce it to the lowest risk level for
adequate protection by means of workplace design, engineering
control measures, hygiene measures and safe handling of waste. The
Medical Devices Directive, 93/42/EEC, also has direct relevance to
this issue. Manufacturers are required to undertake a risk analysis
of all medical devices before they are placed on the
market.