The increase in the provision of quality healthcare in both the government and private sector encourages the adoption of standardized care and treatment protocols. Needle safety presents an important aspect of healthcare and protection of health workers when facilitating health care. The existence of accreditation agencies helps tackle needle injuries by ensuring adherence to safe hospital procedures. The agencies do so by implementing policies, facilitating training, and tracking needle stick injuries to enhance the protection of workers. According to Goel (2014), one of the first steps in ensuring a safe injection environment is ensuring that all staff working in the hospital undergoes preventive immunization against Hepatitis. Other preventive measures include the incorporation of intensive training on safety measures to abide b when handing needle sticks. An important role the hospital equally plays is through the provision of tools that foster a safe environment such as color coded, and puncture proof bins for the disposal of the waste needle sticks.
The issue of needle sticks injuries is one of great significance to the health care sector. According to the United States Department of Labor- Occupational Safety and Health Administration, (2001), healthcare workers experience more than 500,000 exposures to blood. The exposures are dangerous as they predispose individuals to risk of infection to Hepatitis B, C, and HIV. Various factors increase the risk of contamination such as the hygiene practices in place in a hospital, the design of the devices, and the level of training the workers get. As explained b the World Health Organization(2001), devices with hollow bore needled, syringes that retain an exposed needle after use, and needles that are difficult to place in disposal containers are some of the aspects of device design that increase the risk of injury. The promotion of a safe environment depends on a comprehensive hazard assessment of needles and some of the steps needed to formulate an effective assessment include, mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery, (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 1999). .
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Mitigation
Mitigation on the harmful effects of needles encompasses various procedures that hospitals need to follow to minimize the injuries. One of the key factors to consider is training. This is the basic and effective strategy in promoting needle safety, (Royal College of Nursing, 2001). The nature of training programs as explained by Carney (2013), vary, as some of the hospital staff require more training. For example, employees working in the laboratory section and nurses who handle needle sticks most of the time require intensive training. As outlined by the CDC (2001), health workers should avoid the use of needles where safer and effective alternatives are available such as transdermal patches, tablets. In this sense, health workers should have an understanding of other procedures they can substitute needles for which are possible through training. In the handling of the devices, training should particularly focus on the dos and don’ts. For example, they should avoid recapping needles and attempt to prepare for safe handling and disposal of the needles before beginning any procedure. The hospital can print out such rules and place them in strategic places in the hospital to remind employees of the precautions they need to follow.
The hospital in the process of training has a responsibility to create awareness on prompt disposal of needle sticks to avoid issues of cross contamination. There is also need for administrators to foster good relationships with fellow colleagues to create an environment that encourages the reporting and follow up of needle stick injuries immediately the occur, (American Nurses Association, 2002). Where the environment is rigid and hostile, employees are less likely to report incidences of injury and prefer to sort treatment outside the hospital.
An important component of mitigation is the use of engineering controls that examine the quality of the design of the syringes and needles to make them safer and easier to handle. Engineering controls as explained by the CDC (2000), involve an analysis of the trends of sharp-related injuries within hospitals to identify gaps in safety. This would be followed by an evaluation of the effectiveness of preventive efforts and provide feedback on performance. Improved engineering controls then represent a sustainable strategy for managing the needle stick injuries bb creating safer devices.
Work place controls are equally important. They are evident through the hospital’s efforts to increase awareness of handling of sharp objects. One of the ways of establishing such controls is having a written exposure plan help mitigate the injuries when they occur. For example with a written exposure plan, the hospital can hand each copy of the plan to the employees so that they are aware of the procedures to follow when injured.
Preparedness
Setting priorities and prevention strategies is a form of preparedness hospitals can incorporate. It involves an examination of information concerning the risk factors associated with needle stick injuries and having mechanisms in place to handle them. For example, some of the procedures as explained by the CDC (2000) that predispose health workers to disease transmission involve needles targeting a vein or artery. This means that when a health care practitioner is targeting a particular blood vessel, the take the necessary precautions to avoid injury.
Concerning preparedness, WHO (2001), recommends the following steps to health workers who experience a needle stick injury. Before exposure occurs, one ought to ensure that the hospital can provide immediate assessment of the injury, confidential testing for HIV, Hepatitis B, and C, access to post exposure treatment such as prophylactic medication within two hours of exposure. Pending that the injuries provoke some level of anxiety and trauma, the provision of psychosocial support in the form of counseling should be available to prepare the health worker to manage the trauma associated with the injury
Documentation of the injuries when they occur also helps track the prevalence of the injuries and ensure mechanisms are in place to prevent the injuries are effective. Consistent with documenting the injuries, is the implementation of surveys to assess some of the factors that pre dispose health workers to the injuries. Having an understanding of the said factors helps the hospital develop measures that prevent the injuries.
Response
With needle, stick injuries the response has to be prompt to avoid contamination from blood borne contaminants. Health workers receive training on the importance of prompt reporting to enable the hospital to take the necessary precautions. The hospital needs to have an effective mechanism of response such as a hotline or a doctor on call to handle such injuries. Along with prompt response is encouraging a sense of accountability among health workers such that colleagues are comfortable expressing to each other when they get injuries in the process of facilitating treatment; thus, remaining quiet has devastating effects to the practitioner such as infection by a blood borne pathogen.
The response equally involves having a reliable exposure program as explained by the CDC (2001), made up of a prevention committee. Such a committee can specialize in carrying out the checks for safety of the needle sticks. In facilitating prompt response, one of the key features involves an evaluation of hygiene within the hospital, product design features, and ensuring vigorous training of employees.
Recovery
Where the injuries have already occurred, it is important for the hospital to provide treatment and care for the employee, through prompt treatment within a two-hour period after the injury. By encouraging a system of follow up and providing psychosocial support for the employee, he or she can recover well. By having, the patient to whom the health worker test for blood borne pathogens is also important step and helps the hospital identify the potential pathogens to be aware of when facilitating treatment.
The key factor in managing the needle stick injuries is having intensive training procedures that guide employees on how to handle syringes. For example, avoid recapping needles, having proper mechanisms of disposal, (Swayze & Rich, 2012). Other methods include engineering controls through the development of safer needle sticks. With the advancement in technology, hospitals should tap into research and work closely with engineers to develop device designs that are safe and friendly. Hospitals above all have an obligation to foster a safe environment through the provision of guidelines on the use of syringes and availability of prompt treatment options where health workers get into contact with the blood borne pathogens.
References
American Nurses Association (2002). Needle sticks Prevention Guide. Print.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2001). Updated U.S. Public Health Service guidelines for the management of occupational exposures to HBV, HCV, and HIV and recommendations for post exposure prophylaxis. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 50(RR-11), 1-42
Carney, William. (2013). Handbook of Modern Hospital Safety. Second Edition.
Goel. (2014). Textbook of Hospital Administration. New Delhi: Elsevier.
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. (1999). alert: Preventing needle stick injuries in health care settings. (DHHS Publication No. 2000-108). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office
United States Department of Labor – Occupational Safety and Health Administration. (2001). Enforcement procedures for the occupational exposure to blood borne pathogens: Occupational Safety and Health Administration Compliance Directive CPL2-2.69.
Royal College of Nursing, Be Sharp - Be Safe (2001). Avoiding the Risks of Sharps Injury (London: Royal College of Nursing,).
Swayze, S. C., & Rich, S. E. (2012). Promoting safe use of medical devices. Online journal of issues in nursing , 17 (1), 1F.
World Health Organization. WHO (2001). American Nurses Association Prevention Guide . Print.
