Needlestick Safety
Needlestick injuries ARE PREVENTABLE. Adoption of safer devices, clinical processes and encouraged injury reporting are all critical needs for South Africa healthcare today.
Together. Reducing Needlestick Injuries
Serving healthcare for over 30 years, we are very cognizant that an issue as big as this is not solved by putting forward a single remedy in isolation. A sharps container, no matter how safe, cannot eliminate the issue of needlestick injuries single handedly; albeit vital, it is a single piece of a much bigger strategy. Industry reporting of NI, sharps container placement, staff training, SED use and other preventative strategies all form part of the collective need of safeguarding healthcare workers from sharps injuries.
“My injury didn’t occur because I was careless or distracted or not paying attention to what I was doing. This injury and the life-threatening consequences I am now suffering should not have happened.”
Karen Daley – former president of the American Nurses Association
Karen Daley’s story is sadly not a “needle in a haystack” occurrence; her story is felt by healthcare practitioners around the globe. Eliminating sharps injuries relies on many factors – safer devices, safer sharps containers, leadership focus and safety process adoption. However overall, as an industry and as a group of people committed to improving safety for healthcare workers, it requires a collaborative effort ensure that everyone; healthcare practitioners, portering staff and patients, get home safely at the end of the day. To support our healthcare partners in the execution of their needlestick injury aversion strategies, we have put together this library of resources to help support in driving much needed awareness and training around the safe handling of sharps.
How to Prevent Sharps Injuries
Ensure you are trained in the procedure and the device.
Always use a sharps safety device where available.
Before procedure, ensure a sharps container is close by, and the aperture is open and clear.
Immediately after use, activate the safety device and discard into a sharps container.
Do not remove or recap a needle. In the OR, never pass a sharp by hand, use a neutral zone.
If you drop a sharp, never leave it for someone else to pick-up.
Ensure a sharps container is closed before you move it.
Never overfill a sharps container. Never.
Research + Educational Resources
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PostUnderstanding the Behaviour Behind Every Needle Stick Injury
In 2018, Daniels Health US hosted an event to bring the gravity of sharps injuries in healthcare back into conversation. […]
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Post5 Ways Sharpsmart’s Reusable Containers Minimise Infection Risk
The safety of both patients and staff is a high priority in the healthcare industry. One method of ensuring the […]
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PostControl Measures to Prevent Needlestick Injuries
How can we prevent injuries through better sharps disposal and overall healthcare waste management? The hierarchy of controls implemented to […]
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PostHow to Dispose of Needles
Knowing how to dispose of needle waste is essential for anyone working within healthcare. Learn more about the safe and compliant disposal of needles.
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PostHow to Deal with a Sharps Injury
Needlestick injuries are an occupational hazard for all healthcare workers. Learn more about the right way to deal with a sharps injury.
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PostNeedlestick Injuries – the Most Frequent Recorded Incident Among Nursing Students
Introduction The safety of health workers is paramount. Nursing students, while on placement, are considered to be at high risk […]
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PostNeedlestick Injuries Among Nurses in a Regional Hospital in South Africa
Abstract: Needlestick injury in healthcare settings is a global issue, with the preponderance of these injuries among nursing staff being […]
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ResearchSharpsmart: Impact on Sharps Injuries
A Before-After intervention study of 8 acute care hospitals ranging in size from 150 to 850 beds in Australia, New Zealand and Scotland converting to the Sharpsmart sharps containers
Sharps Containers. Role in Injury Reduction
Daniels Sharpsmart, the world’s leading sharps disposal safety system, was the result of 5 years of R&D, clinical research and passion of our founder, Dan Daniels, to eliminate needlestick injuries.
There is no sharps container in South Africa today that rivals the Sharpsmart’s safety features, its clinical peer reviewed studies that prove needlestick injury reduction across years of research, or its global before-and-after safety and sustainability results. For 20 years, the Daniels Sharpsmart container has led the industry.
“By converting to a Daniels Sharpsmart Container, Container Related Needlestick Injuries were reduced by 86.6%”
Peer Reviewed Study published in the American Journal of Infection Control
Eliminate Container-Associated Sharps Injuries
One of the easiest preventative strategies for sharps exposures is selecting a sharps container with inbuilt safety features.
The Sharpsmart leads the industry in Safety.
The only sharps container in the world ISO 23907 certified and classified as a Safety-Engineered-Device, the Sharpsmart is designed with:
- Inbuilt tamperproof locking mechanisms
- Hands-free use, no cross-contamination
- Gravity-Activated tray for finer needles
- Inbuilt Overfill protection
- Hand-Restrictive Access
Sharpsmart Containers
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S14 | Sharpsmart Reusable Sharps Container
14 Litre reusable sharps container with a counterweighted safety tray and ‘no-hands’ access; ideal for patient room use.
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S22 | Sharpsmart Reusable Sharps Container
22 Litre reusable sharps container with inbuilt gravity-sensitive safety tray and overfill protection
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S22A+ | Sharpsmart Access Plus Reusable Sharps Container
22 Litre reusable sharps container designed for use in theatre and secure non-public areas.
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S32 | Sharpsmart Reusable Sharps Container
32 Litre reusable sharps container with an inbuilt counterweighted safety tray.
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S32A+ | Sharpsmart Access Plus Reusable Sharps Container
32 Litre reusable sharps container designed for use in operating rooms and secure non-public areas.
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What to Do if You Suffer a Needlestick Injury Poster
A free poster to help you know what to do if you suffer a needlestick injury.
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PR Study: Sharpsmart Size and Location Impact on SI
This study documents a 6 year study monitoring the phased conversion to the Sharpsmart sharps container.
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PR Study: Impact of Engineering on Sharps Injuries
This study compares the impact of the Sharpsmart reusable sharps container on sharps injuries in 14 hospitals.
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PR Study: Sharpsmart Impact on Sharps Injuries
This study compares 8 hospitals and the impact Sharpsmart has had on sharps injuries.
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Sharpsmart – Safe Sharps Disposal
This simple all-in-one poster defines sharps waste, and instructs how to identify fill level of the Sharpsmart container.
Let’s Talk!
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