There is always the risk that a sharps injury will lead to a blood-borne infection and other consequences. Because of this, workplaces which use sharps such as scalpels and needles (including hospitals, aged care facilities, aesthetician clinics) need to make sure that a sharps safety program is in place. To make sure that your sharps …
Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Is Your Sharps Safety Program Effective?"</span>
Here are some quick stats regarding sharps injuries in the healthcare industry – hospitals, clinics, and facilities. Scalpel cuts are the second most common injury in the operating theatres, accounting for 7% of the total number of reported injuries. Risks from the scalpel cuts have been documented including infection by HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, …
Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Some Quick Statistics on Sharps Injuries"</span>
We talk a lot on this blog about sharps injuries and how they may impact the victim and institution. Sometimes, it’s difficult to comprehend the consequences of a sharps injury in a “real-world” sense. Earlier this year Dr Dean C. Taylor from North Carolina presented his own cautionary story of when he contracted a sharps …
Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Sharps Injury Case Study in the OR"</span>
It’s concerning that even with all the medical breakthroughs and advances in surgical technology, the threat of getting a sharps injury in the healthcare setting is still a major concern amongst nurses, operating room technicians, and other healthcare professionals. These injuries are not just about getting an open cut, but also worrying are the blood …
You are the scrub nurse in the operating room for an open cholecystecomy to remove the gallstones causing the patients pain. The surgery went well, and the surgeon leaves the used scalpel blades in the passing tray after procedures because this is the right thing to do. There is no scalpel blade remover. It is …
Assisting people’s health and well-being must be one of the most altruistic and fulfilling careers that in existence. Yet, when it comes to our own safety we tend to let ourselves down, potentially due that altruistic inclination of worrying about others first. In reality, healthcare professionals are at a high risk of scalpel injuries, who …