From: ian ian@ianblenkharn.com
Category: News & information
Date: 05 Nov 2009
Time: 10:23:09 +0100
Remote Name: 86.166.6.159
A Cincinnati woman faces theft charges after Cincinnati Police say she stole from a sharps container inside Christ Hospital in Mount Auburn. According to court records, Ashley Jones, 23, broke into a sharps container just before 4 p.m. Monday and stole what was inside the metal container, including two vials of morphine. Jones is charged with theft of drugs and vandalism.
It must not be forgotten that, some years ago, sharps containers were prime targets for thieves seeking drug residues for illegal self-use and/or sale among addicts. Quite properly, the disposal of drug wastes has now improved and these wastes are no longer available. Sharps bins no longer should contain filled drug vials or syringes, and anyway it seems that illegal drugs of abuse are readily available across the UK.
But sharps are not so easy. Needle exchange schemes generally require users to register so are not available to those who are adamant that there will stay outside this support regime. Some charities who distribute fresh needles and syringes with the sole purpose of disease protection have found themselves in trouble with the Police who can choose to consider sharps possession as evidence of drug taking and not as an invaluable preventative public health measure. So sharps containers continue to be a target for some, who seek a supply of syringes and needles rather than drugs.
Security should be acceptable wherever clinical wastes are stored. Unfortunately, standards of waste security in hospitals and in the community are often inadequate and more work is required to correct this.