The statistics of fatal accident prevention
A recent announcement from HSE records nine deaths involving the UK waste and recycling industry since June 15, 2012. That is an appalling statistic, and HSE are sending “warnings” to the […]
danger
Needlestick emergency treatment
Many employers in the waste sector, and many Local Authorities, provide some key rules or action points for use in the event of a sharps (needlestick) injury. Repeatedly, the need to allow […]
Taking your work home
In the UK, regulation of tissue waste retention, storage and disposal is very tightly controlled under the Human Tissue Act 2004. Elsewhere, regulation is not so tight but with a […]
Another community sharps hazard?
The recent trend – is is a craze? – for tanning salons that results in young women, and many others who are old enough to know better, turning into something the […]
Glove use – getting it right
News today of a Manchester fireman has been handed a £5,000 payout after injuring himself putting on gloves at work! Bosses at Greater Manchester Fire Service (GMFS) accepted the glove […]
Safer flu vaccine delivery
The season for flu vaccine is not far away and in the UK alone millions of vaccine doses will be administered, almost every one from a single-use pre-filled syringe. In […]
Dumpster kids earn 50p per kilo scavenging hospital waste
A few minutes away from the main Peshawar hospitals, children rummage through trash, collecting used syringes, sharp blades and blood bags. These children are gathering medical waste from garbage dumps […]
Man steps on needle in Bournemouth Hospital car park
In an horrific twist on the now all-too-common tale of sharps injury to a member of the public coming into contact with a discarded needle, usually discarded drug litter, a Bournemouth […]
Church finds dumped medical waste
It seems that there is nowhere free for the occasional dumping of clinical wastes. Though in the UK, it is most commonly drug paraphernalia that might be found in a churchyard. […]
Waste bosses fear safety fees costs
There is much chatter, in MRW CIWM and elsewhere, about concern of the plan by HSE to recover inspection costs from companies that break health and safety rules, fearing that this could lead […]
Do not recycle
Reduce, re-use, recycle. We hear it often but sometimes it is simply not appropriate. A Colorado dentist, Dr Stephen Stein, stands accused of possibly exposing patients to HIV by reusing syringes […]
What are sharps?
Needlestick injuries may carry devastating consequences, even is seroconversion does not occur. Needle-related injury is the first and most obvious concern though latterly the term ‘sharps injury’ has been introduced to widen […]
Hiring temporary staff (clinical waste)
The current vacancy for a part-time clinical waste handler/roundsman in west London raises two interesting questions. The advertisement specifies: “In order to be considered for this role it is essential you have been inoculated […]
Unions muster to increase pressure for implementation of needle safety
Unison and the Royal College of Nursing, two of the major unions representing healthcare workers, are working together to pressure NHS Trusts and the Government to bring forward implementation of Council […]
Managing Norovirus waste
Norovirus outbreaks continue to be a major seasonal problem and cause huge disruption to care services with substantial morbidity and mortality. What to do with Norovirus waste? Much waste will be destined for the toilet […]
Bournemouth toddler suffers sharps injury in local park
The mother of a toddler who rolled onto a drug addict’s needle in a park is facing an agonising wait to see if her daughter has caught HIV. Two-year-old Siann […]
Syringe armed robber arrested
Used syringes and needles make an impromptu but quite frightening weapon. In Brisbane, Australia, a woman has been arrested having used such a weapon in a string of alleged robberies. Maree Sharelle Leighton, 41, […]
Drug abuse in sport
Drug abuse in rife in sport and the sports culture. Many gyms including those which are part of the well-known high street chains have sharps bins in the toilets or […]
Hospital worker makes needlestick compensation claim
9th May 2012 Suffering a needlestick injury can be extremely distressing for anyone affected. Solicitors recently represented a hospital employee who was injured at work in this way and he received compensation. Safety […]
Safety syringes/needles – an additional hygiene and safety problem?
Having spent an hour or so in each of two busy hospital phlebotomy rooms last week it was interesting to observe the approach to newly introduced safety needle devices. Using […]
Ambulance company accused of dumping medical waste
The Capital District Ambulance Service is accused of dumping medical waste in abandoned ambulances. CBS6 has learned that DGS workers who were performing routine maintenance found bags of blood-soaked rags and dirty […]
US community sharps incidents
Calrecycle have reported a collection of sharps-related incidents reported in the news: Boy, 7, pricks himself with a syringe he found on an Oakland play yard Beach Closed After Hypodermic Needles […]
Huge fine for disposal infringements
A California judge has ordered Rhode Island-based pharmacy chain CVS to pay $13.75 million in fines to 45 cities and towns in the Golden State for improper dumping of hazardous materials […]
HIV from sharps injury
It is becoming increasingly common to downplay or overlook completely the possibility of bloodborne virus infection after sharps injury or other blood or bloodstained body fluid exposure. The low incidence of […]
Well done Biffa
A total of £5,024.44 has been donated to East Anglia Air Ambulance as part of the recycling and waste management company’s charity scheme related to health & safety performance. Each […]
Sharps safety training and posters
Many waste managers and their clinical colleagues will know the value of sharps safety training that is supported by additional posters and logos etc placed prominently by general waste and sharps […]
Hospital porter killed by industrial waste compactor
A national cleaning company has been fined £175,000 after a hospital porter was killed by an industrial waste compactor in Bolton. The man’s neck was broken when the lid on the large […]
Occupational syphilis
Sounding more like a troublesome consequence of prostitution, ‘occupational syphilis’ has been recorded in a recent report from the US. Previous reports have described many cases of occupational syphilis in […]
Melting snow reveals discarded needles
A Thunder Bay, Ontario, woman has come across three syringes lying on the ground as the spring sun melts the snow that has lain on the ground for what is, in […]
Safer needles – NHS trusts ‘ignoring’ EU safety directive
The deadline for mandatory implementation of EU Directive 2010/32/EU is drawing ever closer. As yet, many NHS Trusts are dragging their heels, perhaps awaiting reduced prices as the most popular product […]