Scherpe letsels - De uitdaging aangaan in Europa (In het Engels)

Sharps Injuries - Stepping Up to the Challenge in Europe

On a daily basis nurses and other healthcare workers are facing dangerous and potentially life-threatening infections as a result of sharps injuries. By far the most common and significant of these are injuries from used needles (needlestick injuries). There is a huge body of independent evidence that proves that most of these injuries are avoidable if workers are provided with the correct protection, which is readily available in Europe today.

The European Commission has stated that injuries caused by needles and other sharp instruments are one of the most common and serious risks to healthcare workers in Europe and represent a high cost for health systems and society in general. They acknowledge that studies estimate the number of needlestick injuries that occur in Europe at 1.2 million each year.

Needlestick injuries are suffered by nurses, doctors, hospital porters, cleaners, laundry staff, refuse collectors and other workers who are linked with healthcare or who may come into contact with medical waste. More than 30 dangerous blood-borne pathogens are transmitted by contaminated needles, including hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV.

Additionally, the emotional impact of a sharps injury can be severe and long lasting, even when a serious infection is not transmitted. Healthcare workers and their families can suffer many months of anguish as they wait to discover whether they have contracted a potentially fatal infection.

Referentie van de volledige paper:
Sharps Injuries - Stepping Up to the Challenge in Europe. http://www.efnweb.eu/version1/en/documents/HHESharpsarticlePaulDeRaeveEFN.pdf.
Last accessed 05/10/10.