Medical waste closes 8 Long Island beaches
Eight Long Island beaches have closed after medical waste washed ashore. Dozens of needles, syringes, pill bottles and other medical wastes were found by lifeguards. Last updated: Thursday, October 11, […]
sharps injury
Adrenaline ‘pens’
Adrenaline pens carried by those who are prone to potentially devastating anaphylactic (allergic) reactions are becoming increasingly common. Several incidents have been reported, of carelessly discarded or lost pens, and […]
Motel needlestick horror
A Texas woman was treated at Cumberland Medical Center’s emergency room after lying down in bed and then being stuck in the hand by a used syringe, according to police […]
HSE sharps injury advice updated
The HSE sharps injury advice page has recently been updated. http://www.hse.gov.uk/healthservices/needlesticks/index.htm Last updated: Saturday, August 13, 2011
Sharps bin for ambulant use
Sharps bins are generally big and bulky. 1, 2, 4, or more litres capacity, these smaller sizes may sit neatly on a desk or benchtop but for those who are […]
Who suffers most sharps injuries and body fluid exposures?
Sharps injury, and to a lesser extend blood and body fluid exposures, are a constant problem for health professionals and great attention is given to its prevention. However, we have raised […]
€10,000 for needle ‘scare’
A toddler who may have suffered a needlestick injury while playing in a medical centre, has been awarded €10,000. In September 2007, 18-month-old Callum Wynne and his brother had been in the […]
Free webinar on sharps safety in non-hospital settings
The International Healthcare Worker Safety Center is sponsoring a free webinar on a much overlooked topic: “Achieving Sharps Safety Compliance in Non-Hospital Healthcare Settings.” Last updated: Sunday, October 10, 2021
Are safety sharp devices really safe?
A couple of years ago, when the talk about the potential of safety sharp devices in reducing sharps injuries I had a wager with a good friend, that the incidence […]
Syringe horror for Aussie gardener
Yet another regional news report, this time from Australia’s Sunshine Coast, of a sharps injury from a needle discarded into undergrowth garden borders of a holiday complex and lost in […]
Clinical waste, or evidence?
Clinical waste is usually sent for disposal without delay and there is every chance that Roger Clemens, a US baseball pitcher otherwise known as “Rocket” wished that disposal was indeed prompt! […]
High prevalence of HIV, Hep B, Hep C in IV drug users
Today’s BMJ carries a short report of the World Drug Report, launched at the UN headquarters in New York where the UN’s secretary general Ban Ki-moon, said that illicit drugs cause some […]
BBV transmission
The estimated rate of BBV transmission after sharps injury is widely publicised. For Hepatitis B Virus infections the risk is around 30%, for Hepatitis C 3% and for HIV infections around 0.3% risk. […]
Removing needles from prisons
Prison must be a terrible place to be, though some recidivists seem to have an affection for life inside. By all accounts, violence and drug abuse are common and at […]
Sharps waste recycling
Sharps waste recycling, and indeed recycling of materials including ATT-processed plastics, latex and metals from non-sharps waste must be an environmentally sound option when compared with incineration alone. It is […]
Will safety sharps eliminate disposal-related sharps injury?
US and other legislation mandates introduction of engineered safety sharp devices within a year and already there has been wide uptake. Similar European legislation applies through Council Directive 2010/32/EU but […]
Hazardous waste?
What is this? It looks genuine. Even the package looks convincing and seen in some general waste or on a picking line could bring things to a standstill. Last updated: […]
Phobias
Trypanophobia is the extreme and irrational fear of medical procedures involving injections or hypodermic needles, sometimes referred to as aichmophobia, belonephobia, or enetophobia. Though the etymology is unclear, belonephobia refers more generally […]
Protection in law
It is now 9 months or so since a Northern Ireland hospital worker who suffered a sharps injury while handling a bag of clinical waste and feared life-threatening infection will be […]
What does Sharps Injury sound like?
Several times before on the Clinical Waste Discussion Forum we have mentioned the ‘tune’ Infectious Medical Waste by the group Demolition Hammer. And now, we bring you the sound of […]
European Safety Network – Prevention from Sharps Injuries toolkit
European Safety Network Toolkit for Implementation of European Directive on Prevention from Sharps Injuries (Council Directive 2010/32/EU) in Member States Last updated: Sunday, January 22, 2017
Prevention of Sharps Injuries in Healthcare information sheet
A nice new (March 2011) information sheet, Prevention of Sharps Injuries in Healthcare, from the Health and Safety Authority, Ireland, addresses many of the basic practicalities and the implications of Council Directive […]
Needlestick risk – Who pays the premiums?
We tend to believe that much of the work in needlestick prevention comes from the US, with policy development that prohibits recapping of used needles and more recently the development […]
Charged – Failing to dispose of a syringe
A short news report from Australia tells a sorry tale of a police office suffering a sharps injury during a drug raid. The syringe was alleged to have been used […]
Reporting of sharps injury – will Council Directive 2010/32/EU help?
Recent reports from New Zealand and Ireland report underreporting of sharps injuries in around one third of doctors and nurses respectively. This is in accord with the many other studies […]
Sharps-related infections
We have previously discussed the wide diversity of infections that can be transmitted by sharps or needlestick injury. Last updated: Sunday, October 13, 2019
Needles discarded into recycling bins
Even a single discarded needle turning up in a recycling bin or found on a picking line can bring things to a shuddering halt. Yet more seriously, it can cause […]
University installs sharps bins in toilets
The University of Iowa is to install needle-deposit bins in restrooms across its campus. Facilities Management will now foot the $9,000 bill for purchasing and installing the containers. Though dressing […]
Discarded needles stir worries
“In March, a Lynn elementary school student tried to give himself a pretend flu shot with a hypodermic needle he found on the street. Last month, a couple of syringes […]
Warning after needlestick injury
“Terrified mum-of-four has warned others to be alert after a discarded hypodermic needle got stuck in her hand while she was gardening. ” The woman, who wished to remain anonymous but […]