Takeaways:
- You must actively manage the risk of needle stick injuries to ensure staff and patient safety in every work environment.
- Safety devices, gloves, proper storage, staff training, and minimizing unnecessary needle use are all good solutions.
- Take as many precautions as possible to ensure the best possible safety accommodations in accordance with needlestick OSHA guidelines.
Preventing Needle Stick Injury in the Workplace
Needlestick injuries are a potential hazard in a variety of workplaces, including hospital settings, laboratories, veterinarian offices, and emergency transport services. Anyone who handles sharps is at risk and should take appropriate precautions for avoiding needle stick injury.
Whether you’re in charge of creating training modules for staff or building compliance regulations in your facility, this guide can be a helpful tool for preventing sharps injuries. Take a look at our recommendations to develop the best system for your team.
1. Implement Safety Devices
You can modify your use of sharps with a variety of safety devices to ensure a safer environment for staff. These devices are modified sharps designed to help with avoiding needle stick injury. Some of the most common safety technologies that can make a difference for everyday needle use include:
- Retractable Needles: The needle retracts into the syringe after use
- Blunt Fill Needles: Beveled needles that require more force to cause penetration
- Eclipse Needles: Has a locking safety mechanism that closes over the needle
- Sharps Clippers: A separate disposal method that clips the needle off after use
- Needle Covers: Caps that come attached for use during transfer
Many of these safety devices come already attached to syringes and other sharps, so ordering a product with added accessories adheres to OSHA’s Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act.
2. Proper Handling
Stocking your facility with sharps that already include enhanced safety measures is step one of avoiding needle stick injury, but that doesn’t mean you can skip out on training! Teach your staff proper sharps handling for preventing sharps injuries on a daily basis.
Here are the basics of needle handling safety:
- Put on gloves before handling any sharps
- Always handle sharps with both hands behind the plane of the needle
- Never aim sharps toward yourself or another person unless you’re ready to inject
- Push and pull plungers at a slow, measured pace
- Avoid applying too much pressure to plungers, as this may cause needles to break
- Immediately place used sharps in a needle disposal container
- Do not try to recap needles
Understanding needle handling also includes reviewing medical sharps containers. Keep reading for CDC and OSHA recommendations regarding needle disposal.
3. Needle Disposal
While each facility generally has its own sharps disposal guidelines, the best strategy for avoiding needle stick injury in the workplace is to adhere to CDC and OSHA recommendations. CDC needlestick injury statistics show that needle stick injuries occur across all types of sharps, including:
- Over 60% with hollow-bore needles
- Nearly 30% with hypodermic needles or disposable syringes
- About 10% with butterfly-style needles
No matter which sharps are most used in your facility, these disposal instructions can work toward preventing needle stick injury:
- Use approved biohazard sharps containers
- Dispose of sharps immediately after use
- Do not resheathe a sharp before disposal
- Remove damaged sharps containers
- Do not try to retrieve sharps from needle disposal boxes
- Store sharps containers in secure areas
Use steel-backed sharps container cabinets to mitigate theft
Going Above & Beyond Safety Guidelines
Many sharps and blood disposal containers offer unique features with safety in mind. Some of the top clinical sharps disposal container designs for avoiding needle stick injury include:
- Vertical drop disposal
- Anti-leak, one-piece designs
- HDPE material with thick walls
- Locking, tamper-evident lids
- Rose petal mouth
- Clear fill lines and hazard labeling
- Compatible with stability mounts and brackets
- Weather-proof materials for outdoor use
- Locking cabinets
4. Wearing Gloves
While we previously discussed gloves as a strategy for avoiding needle stick injury, it’s important to revisit this for a more thorough explanation. While many healthcare professionals already glove up before using needles, evidence shows that double-gloving can improve needlestick prevention even more. While it’s still possible to break through two pairs of gloves, any added precaution for preventing needle stick injury can make the difference between safety and exposure to bloodborne pathogens.
5. Avoid Needle Use
While there are situations where needle use is required, you can focus on preventing sharps injuries by using needles only when absolutely necessary. In some cases, it may be better to wait until a patient is calm or the circumstances in your facility are less hectic before proceeding with sharps usage. Conduct a risk assessment for your specific situation to determine whether you should take immediate action or wait for better conditions. Common concerns during your assessment should include:
- Fatigue
- Patient behavior
- Environment pacing
Needle Stick Injury FAQ
What should you do if you’ve experienced a needle stick injury?
Sometimes, avoiding needle stick injury is impossible. If you’ve been pricked, sanitize and treat the wound right away. You’ll also need to inform a facility supervisor and possibly submit to testing for HIV, hepatitis B and C, and other bloodborne pathogens.
Are needle stick injuries really that serious?
In some cases, sharps can transmit lifelong illnesses, like HIV, into your system. While preventing sharps injuries is getting easier, the World Health Organization has found that Hepatitis C is the most commonly transmitted virus, accounting for 21% of cases.
How long after a needle stick injury should you get tested?
If preventing needle stick injury is impossible, you should get tested at the time of the incident. You should continue testing at the six-week, three-month, and six-month mark before you can consider yourself clear of contagion.
Safety at Post Medical
Post Medical offers your team the tools you need for avoiding needle stick injury in a variety of situations. Shop our products to discover large sharps containers for hospital sharps disposal, as well as medium and small containers for use in low-volume environments.
