Questionnaire - Infections associated with clinical waste handling

Questionnaire - Infections, accidents and near-misses with clinical wastes Clinical wastes present several clearly defined risks. They may transmit infection, ranging from the troublesome but relatively minor infection of a traumatic wound, cut or graze, infections of the gut and respiratory (chest) infections, to more serious, possibly life-threatening infections caused by a range of viruses. Other hazards include allergic reactions to materials present in these wastes, and exposure to toxic or corrosive chemicals including disinfectant and pharmaceutical residues. There are ever-present risks of physical injury (cuts, scrapes and sharps injury), as well as slips, trips and falls, vehicle- and equipment-related accidents, and injuries from manual handling of wastes and equipment.. Many reports, guidelines, and Codes of Practice have each considered the risks, and ways in which they may be reduced or eliminated. Although "needlestick" or "sharps" injuries have been studied in great detail, mainly among healthcare workers, due to the complexities of study there has been no single authoritative study that defines overall the incidence (frequency) and types of problems that occur when handling clinical wastes. Questionnaires are invaluable in gaining detailed information that can indicate current practice, and identify problems and their remedies. We hope that the information obtained from this questionnaire will go some way to identifying the range of hazards involved, their severity, and methods or procedures by which these hazards can be reduced or eliminated. Significant findings will be published in an appropriate scientific journal, with care to ensure that the sources of data provided remain anonymous, Your help in completing a relevant questionnaire will be greatly appreciated. All data will be treated in STRICT CONFIDENCE. Your identity and other details will NEVER be divulged.

Section 1 of 6 Your details Name and address etc are not required, but are helpful to eliminate duplicates. These data will NEVER be divulged, and we will not attempt to contact you unless you have given permission Your name Your address Email address Phone May we contact you by phone or email if additional information is required? If you are happy that we contact you, we will ensure complete discretion - be assured that we will NOT divulge the purpose of the call to any other person Section 2 of 6 About your job These details are not essential, but will be very helpful in defining which groups are at risk, and where accidents or incidents may occur. Data will NEVER be divulged, and we will not attempt to contact you unless you have given permission Who do you work for specify Your position Please describe your duties How long have you worked in this or in a similar job? Section 3 of 6 Infections, incidents causing injury, and near-misses associated with clinical wastes Please submit a separate record for each infection, incident causing injury, or near-miss incident. All data are strictly confidential and will NEVER be disclosed. Where did the incident occur? please give details please give as much detail as possible When did the incident occur What wastes were you handling at the time? Where did it come from? What sort of container were the wastes in? please give details Was the incident reported to a manager, HSE etc? please give details Was this a one-off event How serious was this infection / incident? Type of event Infection - please also complete Section 4 Injury (including allergic reactions) - please also complete Section 5 Near-miss incident - please also complete Section 6 Was protective equipment available Was all necessary protective equipment used at the time of the incident Was any action taken to prevent this happening again? *If Yes, please give details* please give as much detail as possible Section 4 of 6 Infections associated with clinical wastes Please submit a separate record for each infection. All data are strictly confidential and will NEVER be disclosed. Did an infection develop? If Yes, please give details of what happened please give as much detail as possible Was treatment necessary? If Yes, please give details What treatment was necessary, and for how long? please give as much detail as possible Who gave the treatment? self-administered treatment first-aider Hospital emergency department Occupational Health General practitioner Other *please specify* Was it necessary to take time off work? Section 5 of 6 Incidents causing injury or allergic reactions occurring while handling clinical wastes Please submit a separate record for each incident causing injury. All data are strictly confidential and will NEVER be disclosed. Was there a physical injury or allergic reaction? If Yes, please give details of what happened please give as much detail as possible Was treatment necessary? If Yes, please give details please give as much detail as possible Who gave treatment? self-administered treatment first-aider Hospital emergency department Occupational Health General practitioner Other *specify* Was it necessary to take time off work? Section 6 of 6 Near-miss incidents occurring while handling clinical wastes Was this a near-miss incident If Yes, please give as much detail as possible Any other comments Please press to send data, or to clear all entries
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date last changed: 18 June 2007

Questionnaire - Infections, accidents and near-misses with clinical wastes