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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 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
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
We have previously discussed the wide diversity of infections that can be transmitted by sharps or needlestick injury. Last updated: Sunday, October 13, 2019
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 […]
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 […]
A sobering report from Total Essex tells of a Chelmsford couple who must feel like banging their heads against the nearest availlable brick wall. Last updated: Wednesday, August 31, 2016
“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 […]
“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 […]
Local Authorities have a statutory obligation to collect discarded sharps and related hazardous waste items from public land. Audit of LA performance standardsidentifies a widely variable standard of operation, with some […]
Dumping used needles, in playgrounds, parks, alleyways or wherever puts lives at risk, generates fear among communities and lowers property values. In every way, it is unacceptable behavior. Last updated: […]
DIY tattoo kits are advertised extensively on the internet and there is evidence that many such kits, mainly originating from China, are being supplied in the UK. Last updated: Tuesday, […]
Collecting spilled or misplaced clinical wastes that may arise somewhere between producer and waste management contractor – perhaps that stray yellow or orange sack sitting on the highway forelornely awaiting collection, the bag blown […]
The disposal of veterinary sharps is a complex but somewhat overlooked matter. Sharps generated by veterinary staff are rather straightforward and all vets should have access to sharps boxes and […]
There is widespread misconception that sharps or needlestick infections are associated only with the bloodborne virus Hepatitis B and HIV, and that since no such infections have been recorded among waste […]
There are several legal and paralegal firms in the UK now getting wise to the high rate of sharps injury to healthcare professionals and others. They offer low-cost or no-win […]
We tend to thing of sharps injury as a hazard largely particular to healthcare professionals and the clinical waste sector but there are ongoing problems in the recycling industries and […]
Sharps Compliance Corphas launched an essay contest for students in healthcare and related studies. Winners will be awarded a first ($1,500), second ($1,000) or third ($500) prize scholarship for the […]
We have previously reported in the Clinical Waste Discussion Forum the case of a woman charged for throwing away a used hypodermic needle at a fast-food restaurant in Wollongong, New South Wales, which […]