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Review
. 2015 Feb 3;29(22):37-42.
doi: 10.7748/ns.29.22.37.e9471.

A quality improvement initiative to reduce needlestick injuries

Affiliations
Review

A quality improvement initiative to reduce needlestick injuries

Anthony Beynon. Nurs Stand. .

Abstract

Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust introduced sharp-safe needles in January 2013; these became a part of general practice by April 2013. A service evaluation was undertaken to investigate whether the introduction of sharp-safe needles had reduced the incidence of needlestick injuries. Results showed that 608 percutaneous injuries were sustained during the use and disposal of sharps between April 2010 and March 2014. A total of 122 injuries occurred following the introduction of the new sharp-safe needles (2013-2014), which was a 26% reduction compared with the previous year (2012-2013, n = 165). These results could mean that the sharp-safe needles reduced the rate of injuries. A definitive evaluation of the effectiveness of the sharp-safe needles was not possible given the limited data available since their introduction.

Keywords: Blood-borne infection; HIV; health service evaluation; incident reporting; needlestick injuries; nursing care; quality improvement; sharps injuries.

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