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MAJOR PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS LIKELY FROM SHARPS INJURY PROJECT FINDINGS ANNOUNCED AT 3M HEALTH CARE E
Added: (Mon Nov 26 2001)
A year-long pilot project collecting data on sharps injuries across England, Wales and Scotland has revealed major implications for changes in practice, according to Dee May, Infection Control Advisor to the Royal College of Nursing.
Speaking at a 3M Health Care Advanced I.V. Study Day in the Midlands, Ms May – also Professional Officer with the Infection Control Nurses Association – presented for the first time the findings from nearly 900 records gathered from 12 pilot sites during a 12-month period. She was addressing an audience of nearly 100 health care professionals from throughout the United Kingdom.
The project showed that nurses, including student nurses, received nearly 50% of the injuries and more than a third of all injuries occurred during use (36%). The patient room or ward, as expected, was the location for 48% of incidents and the operating theatre and recovery rooms nearly 20%.
Particularly significant for Ms May among the results, was that 37% of the injuries occurred around non-use of the sharp (i.e. the injured worker was not the original user of the sharp).
“There are serious implications here for procedures and practice and for anyone involved in disposal. Something has to be done about this,” she said.
Ms May also said that the high numbers of incidents occurring during use has similar implications involving training, technique and expertise.
A report containing full details of the findings is shortly to be submitted to the Department of Health. The project is due to carry on for a second year and Ms May urged the near-100 audience to collect data locally, in order to identify local problems and to inform practice. The use of specialist software such as EPINet (as used in this pilot study) also provides health care professionals with the opportunity to contribute to national and international data and help reduce sharps injuries in the profession.
“Dee’s findings were of great interest to 3M Health Care’s audience and I’m sure that they will go back to their own environments with a determination to look closely at the results and see how local benefits can be made,” said Study Day chairman Andrew Jackson, Consultant Nurse Intravenous Therapy and Care at Rotherham General Hospital.
3M Health Care is a leading provider of professional-use medical products to hospitals and primary care. It is a market leader in wound management products, including IV dressings, and a wide range of other medical products.
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For further information on 3M Health Care contact Julie Owen tel: +44 (0) 1509 613372 or for Dee May contact the RCN Press Office tel: +44 (0) 207 647 3633.