Every year about 100,000 cases of sharps and needle-related injuries occur in the UK. Ironically, the victims are members of staff who provide healthcare services across the country. But this scenario is going to change, with stern European Union guidelines being implemented to prevent the risk of such injuries.

Under the guidance of UNISON’s Head of Health, Karen Jennings, a number of negotiations were conducted at the EU level between HOSPEEM – the European hospital and healthcare employers’ associationand the European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU).

The new guidelines will work not only towards the protection of staff from needle-related injuries but also ensure that in the event of an injury, the case is addressed by employers with both responsibility and urgency. The NEBOSH International General Certificate is designed for Managers, supervisors and employees based outside the UK who require a broad knowledge and understanding of health and safety principles and practices – click on NEBOSH International – for course details. The certificate gives insight into international standards and management systems, to help to comply with workplace health and safety responsibilities within organisations, in all parts of the world.

In this regard, Jennings highlighted that the availability of safer needles at affordable prices can save many lives from the serious health hazards posed by dirty needles which include hepatitis and AIDS. She said that a needlestick injury requires the company to bear the expenditure of the employee’s treatment, which includes everything from preliminary tests to the final compensation that the company is liable to pay to the worker. This expenditure can be curtailed if there are cleaner needles for healthcare staff to work with. Another point worth considering is that psychological distress related to needlestick injuries cannot be weighed in monetary terms, so no amount of compensation to alleviate it would suffice.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 29th, 2009 at 4:45 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.