Sharps, body fluids, and immediate injury response

Sharps injuries are a recognised hazard in health and social care. The HSE defines sharps as needles, blades and other instruments that can cut or pierce the skin. A contaminated sharp can transmit blood-borne viruses such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV. Even when infection does not occur, a sharps injury can cause significant worry and stress.

Care staff can encounter sharps in insulin pens, blood glucose testing equipment, injectable medicines, clinical waste, bins, laundry and bedding, in resident rooms, in visitors' belongings, or when disposal has been unsafe. Staff may also be exposed to bites, scratches, spitting, blood, vomit, urine, faeces or other body fluids during care.

Safer sharps practice

• Use sharps bins correctly: sharps should go straight into the correct approved container after use.
• Do not overfill sharps containers: follow fill lines and local replacement procedures.
• Do not put hands into bins, bags, bedding, laundry, or waste where sharps may be hidden.
• Do not recap or dismantle needles unless your specific training and device instructions require a safe method.
• Report missing, damaged, overflowing, or incorrectly placed sharps containers immediately.
• Use PPE and safe systems: follow infection prevention, waste, laundry, and incident procedures.

If a sharps injury happens

HSE advice for a potentially contaminated sharps injury is to encourage the wound to bleed gently, preferably under running water; wash the wound with running water and plenty of soap without scrubbing; do not suck the wound; dry it, cover with a waterproof dressing and seek urgent medical advice.

Local policy should specify who to contact, where to attend, how quickly to seek occupational health or emergency advice and how the incident is recorded. Do not quietly wash the injury and carry on.

RIDDOR and sharps

Sharps injuries and body-fluid exposures need immediate first aid, urgent advice, and reporting. Quietly washing the injury and carrying on is not safe practice.