Man died 20 years after prick from infected needle
A man with a learning disability who contracted Hepatitis B from a dirty needle while gardening died due to the virus twenty years later. Dermot Redmond (53) from Walkinstown Road […]
infection
Discarded needles won’t “jump out and bite you”
In a comment that perhaps rates as the most arrogant and ill-advised comment ever made regarding sharps safety, health ‘officials’ are urging Londoners to become more educated about discarded needles […]
Pilfering from clinical wastes
A US nurse admitted in court pilfering from clinical wastes to obtain drugs apparently ‘to aid in suicide attempts at her home’, but denied using those drugs and/or the syringes […]
NHS buys mobile needle exchange for addicts amid HIV ‘outbreak’
The NHS has bought a mobile needle exchange for heroin addicts to use in a bid to halt an “uncontained HIV outbreak” in Scotland’s largest city. It is estimated that […]
Recycled hospital waste to helpt ‘desperate’ children in Africa
Pharmaceutical firm Adcock Ingram Critical Care has joined forces with a group of local hospitals and waste management businesses to recycle medical waste in the Johannesburg area of South Africa. […]
Sharps waste dumped in Totnes
Sharps boxes containing used hypodermic needles are being found dumped in bushes around an area of a supermarket car park used by thousands of shoppers. Over the last few months, […]
Lab safety concerns – do they put you at risk?
An interesting and timely exclusive in The Guardian highlights the frequency of serious safety incidents in UK laboratories (NHS, private, research labs & universities, commercial) which create significant risks of […]
Sheath removal for hypodermic needles – right or wrong?
It is now universal policy in the UK, Europe, US and in many other countries to dispose used needles WITHOUT removing the sheath, or if the needle is already exposed, […]
A little bit of knowledge….
A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing. And so it is when the public are fobbed off with headline statements regarding safety that address only one small part […]
BD launches safety engineered devices campaign, India
To encourage the usage of safety engineered devices, BD is organizing a ‘Santa Says…Stay Sharp Be Safe’ pan India campaign. Aligned with its commitment towards safety of healthcare workers, the […]
Down on the farm – needlestick is a real risk
Within agricultural production a good share of livestock producers perform routine veterinary work themselves. This includes administering vaccinations or treatments for common disease or sickness. A result of performing this […]
Clinical waste disposal in India – how bad can they get?
CHANDIGARH: A task of unclogging drains belched out hundreds of used syringes at Government Medical College and Hospital, Sector 32, on Saturday, indicating that something was wrong in the disposal […]
Shooting up: A warning for waste handlers
The Health Protection Agency have released a new Public Health England report, “Shooting Up, the annual report on infections among people who inject drugs (PWID) in the United Kingdom, has […]
what’s happening to all of the ‘vet meds’?
A record number of farmers – 525 in total – travelled to Listowel, Co. Kerry, with their hazardous waste last Saturday (November 4). Speaking to AgriLand, the EPA’s Shane Colgan stated […]
Is your soap dispenser RACIST?
A video that shows an automatic bathroom soap dispenser failing to detect the hand of a dark-skinned man has gone viral and raised questions about racism in technology, as well […]
FDA Proposes reclassification of Needle Destruction Devices
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday proposed reclassifying the needle destruction device, renamed as “sharps needle destruction device,” from a Class III device into Class II (special controls), […]
Adelaide mum petitions for secure sharps bin improvement
A mother whose daughter was cut by a used syringe when she put her hand on an open sharps deposit box says children remain at risk of contracting deadly diseases […]
Infant’s needlestick after teen left needle in shop
A 14-year-old boy has been charged after two children were pricked by a used syringe in the delicatessen section of a supermarket. Two children, including an infant boy, were pricked […]
How much do sharps injuries cost the NHS?
Healthcare workers are regularly faced with needlestick injuries (NSI) and while it might not be a standout issue, the financial implications across the NHS are damning. According to the NHS […]
Clinical waste piles up at Whipps Cross Hospital
Piles of clinical waste bags were left to mount up outside a hospital as vital workers went on strike against “slave-like” working conditions and zero-hours contracts. A porter revealed shocking […]
Needlestick prevention inventor wins big at convention
A needle that automatically caps itself after use has attracted interest from manufacturers to mass-produce them from less than NT$3 per unit. The medical device that automatically caps needles after use, […]
Comprehensive approach to managing sharps danger in Belfast
Belfast residents have become concerned over the increase in needles and drug paraphernalia being found in public places across the city. Not unusual, since most towns and cities face similar […]
US elementary school student pricks 14 others with needle
A San Francisco Bay Area school district advised the families of 14 elementary school students to take their children to doctors after another student pricked them with a needle, a […]
Alcohol hand sanitizer
Alcohol hand sanitizer is now ubiquitous. It is used right across the healthcare arena, and in the waste sector though its efficacy on dirty hands is severely limited. Since its […]
Every discarded needle reported in Bristol since 2015
Charity Transform has released a map showing needles reported across the city and there are a few surprising hotspots. http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/map-shows-every-discarded-needle-44354 Inevitably, this is just the tip of the iceberg, and […]
4-year-old has HIV test after sharps injury
A 4-year old has had an HIV test and Mum now has an anxious 3-6 month wait for clearance after stepping on and being struck by a discarded needle in […]
Needle find during annual beach clean-up
Horrified volunteers cleaning up Booterstown Reserve had a lucky escape at the weekend when one of them came across a used syringe at the south Dublin beauty spot. The dirty […]
20,000 improperly discarded hypodermic needles
More than 20,000 improperly discarded hypodermic needles retrieved in Boston in one year. That’s a statistic that nobody would wish to have. The City of Boston Mobile Sharps team picked […]
Clinical waste kept near play equipment
Clinical waste kept near play equipment – inspectors rule dentist does “not meet standards. Clinical waste was left near children’s play equipment at a dentist in Rugby branded unsafe by […]
Needle bins to be installed in Bodmin public toilets
Bodmin will soon see sharps disposal bins installed in public toilets across the town, in what the council says is a response to the increase in the number of used […]