Needlestick injury

In a recent survey carried out by the Royal College of Nursing, 48% of respondents said that at some point in their careers they had been stuck by a needle or a sharp that had been used on a patient. The report Needlestick injury in 2008, (Word 315 KB) also showed that there are inadequate systems in place for follow up once an incident has occurred. It is clear that exposure to blood borne viruses is a significant risk faced by nurses in their daily work but there is a lack of movement in implementing safer systems of work.

The majority of these injuries could be prevented and the RCN is calling for a legislative solution to this ongoing problem. To support this work, the RCN has published a new needlestick campaign leaflet. Needlestick injuries. The point of prevention (PDF 1.4MB) [see how to access PDF files].

There is good guidance available but what is actually required is a statutory framework to ensure that the guidance is consistently applied. The RCN has called for changes to the European Directive on Biological Agents to extend to minimum standards of occupational health and safety to the issue of needle stick injury.

The RCN is also a member of the safer needles network which aims to minimise the number of needlestick injuries by promoting preventive measure and safer systems of working such as improved training and education, use of standard (universal) precautions, the provision of safer needles and safe disposal of sharps.

European trade unions and employers reach agreement on next steps for the prevention of needlestick injuries 

EPSU, the European Public Sector Union of which the RCN is a member has agreed to enter discussions with the European Hospital and Healthcare Employers' Association (HOSPEEM), the organisation representing European health care employers on the development of a framework agreement on the prevention of sharps injuries.

The agreement will seek to establish a number of general principles, objectives and concrete measures to prevent, combat and eliminate injuries with sharps and will contain provisions for implementation, monitoring and evaluation. The agreement will be binding on the member organisations. EPSU and  HOSPEEM will also request that the European Council transpose the agreement into a European Directive, thus making it a legal requirement. 

Discussions on the content of the framework agreement are due to start in January 2009. The RCN will be seeking a firm commitment to prevent sharps injuries through the provision of safety devices and effective training.