Sharp injuries

Effective April 2001, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced new guidelines on needle stick prevention. Under the theory that prevention is the best medicine, revisions were made in the Bloodbome Fhthogens Standard. The revisions clarify the need for employers to select safer needle devices as they become available and to involve employees in identifying and choosing the devices. Employers with 11 or more employees must also maintain a Sharps Injury Log to include (at least) the following components ... 

Occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens needle sticks and other sharps injuries Final Rule. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Fed Reg 2001 66 5318-25. 

National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards. Implementing a needle stick and sharps injury prevention program in the clinical laboratory A report. 

A sample of 475 staff from 10 hospitals in Costa Rica, Gimeno et al. (2005) found that safety culture was related to self-reported work-related injuries. Another study of 789 hospital-based healthcare workers in the USA, found that experienced blood and body fluid exposure incidents for workers were lower when senior management support, safety feedback and training were perceived favourably (Gershon et al. 2000). In Japan, reduced needle-stick and sharp injuries to hospital workers were associated with safety culture factors, such as being involved in health and safety matters (Smith et al. 2010). In our Scottish hospital sample, we collected information on self-reports of worker injuries, as well as observed errors affecting patients. 

Henry, K., Campbell, S., Needle Stick/Sharps Injuries and HIV Exposure among Healthcare Workers National Estimates Based on a Survey of U.S. Hospitals, Minnesota Medicine, Vol. 78, No. 11,1995, pp. 41-44. 

Pruss-Ustun, A., Rapiti, E., Hutin, Y., Estimation of the Global Burden of Disease Attributable to Contaminated Sharps Injuries among Healthcare Workers, American Journal of Industrial Medicine, Vol. 48,2005, pp. 482-490. 

Employers with employees experiencing occupational exposure to blood or other potentially infections materials mnst maintain a log of occupational injuries and illnesses under existing recordkeeping rnles but must also maintain a sharps injury log. This log must be maintained in a manner that... 

What three types of information does OSHA require on sharps injury logs ... 

Use proper equipment and techniques to prevent sharps injuries. 

Develop written schedules of inspections and maintenance of all electrical equipment. Operating room personnel should receive annual training on bloodborne pathogens and other safety issues. Implement policies and procedures for sharps injury reporting. OSHA requires an appropriate sharps safety plan that includes the evaluation and selection of safer sharps and needles. Operating... 

Surgical staff should wear appropriate protective clothing and equipment, which can protect from unwanted fluid splash or sharps injuries. PPE includes gloves, face masks, soak-proof gowns, impervious boots or shoe covers, face shields, and other eye protection devices. Make safety scalpels with movable shields or retracting blades available to surgeons and other operating room personnel. 

Guerlain S, Wang L, Hugine A. Intelli-ject s novel epinephrine autoinjector sharps injury prevention validation and comparable analysis with EpiPen and Twinject. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 2010 105(6) 480-4. 

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has launched a Stop Sticks campaign to reduce sharps injuries among health care workers - estimated at 385,000 a year in the U.S. 

Sharps injuries are a significant injury and health hazard for health care workers and a costly problem for hospitals. Most reported sharps injuries involve nursing staff, but laboratory staff, physicians, housekeepers, and other health care workers are also affected. 

The Stop Sticks campaign is aimed at raising awareness and motivating workers to make the changes needed to reduce sharps injuries. "Change itself requires a shift in the organiza-... 

The rule requires the employer to protect the privacy of the injured or ill employee. The employer must not enter an employee s name on the OSHA 300 Log when recording a privacy concern case. The employer must keep a separate, confidential list of the case numbers and employee names, and provide it to the government on request. If the work-related injury or illness involves an intimate body part or the reproductive system resulted from a sexual assault results in mental illness leads to HIV infection, hepatitis, or tuberculosis results from needlestick and sharps injuries contaminated with another person s blood or other potentially infectious material or other illnesses, not injuries, if the employee independently and voluntarily requests that his or her name not be entered on the OSHA 300 Log, it is considered a privacy concern case. 

Fire, explosion, calamities and sharp injuries are dealt with separately. 

In addition, this chapter focuses on, calamities, needle-stick and sharps injuries, fire and explosion... 

The EU Directive to prevent needlestick and sharps injuries in the hospital and healthcare sector (Sharps Directive) 2010/32/EU [86] implements the Framework Agreement on prevention fi om sharps injuries in the hospital and healthcare sector signed by the European social partners HOSPEEM (the European hospital and healthcare employers association) and EPSU (the European Federation of Public Services Unions). 

Needlestick and sharps injuries (NSI) are a common occupational hazard for healthcare workers. Although nurses are most at risk fi om needlestick and sharps injuries, it may also affect pharmacy staff, for instance at the collection and handling of patients waste (i.e. insulin syringes) and at aseptic processes. 

Council of Europe. Directive 2010/32/EU - prevention fiom sharp injuries in the hospital and healthcare sector. Accessible via osha. europa.eu... 

Employers having workers with occupational exposure to BBP must establish and maintain a sharps injury log for the recording of percutaneous injuries from contaminated sharps. The information in the sharps injury log has to be recorded and maintained in such manner as to protect the confidentiality of the injured employee. The sharps injury log need to contain, at a minimum ... 

This applies to any employer who is required to maintain a log of occupational injuries and illnesses under OSHA s injury and illness recordkeeping standard, part 1904. However, employers may use the OSHA 300 Log and 301 incident report to meet the sharps injury log requirements. To use the recordkeeping forms, the type and brand of the device has to be entered on either the 300 or 301 form, and the records must be maintained in a way that segregates sharps injixries from other types of work injuries. However, if you prefer to maintain a separate sharps injury log, there is a sample form on page 77 of this chapter. 

You may use the OSHA 300 and 301 forms to meet the sharps injruy log requirement at 1910.1030(h)(5) in the Bloodbome Pathogens standard. To fulfill this requirement, enter the type and brand of the device causing the sharps injruy on either form and maintain the records in a way that segregates sharps injuries from other types of work-related injuries and illnesses, or allows sharps injruies to be easily separated. 

Q. Can you clarify the relationship between the OSHA recordkeeping requirements and the requirements in the Bloodborne Pathogens standard to maintain a sharps injury log ... 

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