Procedures related to safety
measures: Safe use of sharps
Dr. Nilanthi Dissanayake
(MBBS, [Link]., MD [Link].)
Senior Lecturer
Department of Microbiology,
Faculty Of Medicine,
University Of Peradeniya &
Consultant Microbiologist
Teaching Hospital, Peradeniya
• What are sharps (medically used)
Any device or object with sharp point or edge
that use to puncture or cut skin or mucous
membrane
Eg. Needles, scalpel blades, Lancets
• What are sharps waste?
Biomedical waste composed of used sharps
• Who are likely to handle sharps in an
healthcare setting ?
doctors/ veterinarians
nurses
healthcare assistants
allied health professionals
laundry and waste management personnel
(tattooing and body piercing
Beauty culture related activities)
• Risks of sharp injuries
- physical damage
- Infection hazard
Hepatitis B – 30%
Hepatitis C – 3%
HIV – 0.3%
• How to be safe ?
- Minimize
- Use alternatives - needless intravenous
systems, substituting unprotected medical
sharps with safer sharps devices
- Be aware of the type of hazard
• Take measures to minimize hazard-
• Safe working practices
• Safe working practices
- protect all breaks in exposed skin by means of
waterproof dressings and/or gloves
- no recapping of needles, sharps get placed in a
sharps bin immediately after use
- ensuring that needles are not,
passed from hand to hand
bent or broken
- Avoid leaving sharps lying around
- Do not try to retrieve items from a sharps
container
• Do not place sharps containers on the floor,
window sills or above shoulder level. They
should be stored above knee level and below
shoulder level
• Close the container when it is three-quarters
full using the closure mechanism. Do not try
to press sharps down to make more room
• Proper disposal
• Categorization and education of staff
• Reminders (posters/ videos)
• Proper collection
• Proper transport
• Proper collection places
• Proper disposal facilities
• Minimize effects if injury happens??
- Appropriate first aid
- Report the injury
- Prior vaccination
- Adhere to medical follow up after
incident
Sharp collection
- Sharp collection boxes
- Biohazard sign
- Yellow coloured
- Made out of plastic or thick cardboard
- Once 2/3 filled, close, put into a yellow bag
and carry in a
trolley if cardboard
Sharp transport
• Close the aperture to the sharps container when
carrying to prevent spillage or tampering
• If self made (substandard) container is used,
Close, seal and put in a yellow bag.
Carry sharps containers preferably by the handle,
away from the body
If substandard container are used, better to carry in
a waste carrier to avoid accidents
Sharp storage
• Dedicated, secure place
• Lock and key
• Away from human traffic
• Responsible officer
• No access to animals
• No access to unauthorized people
Sharp disposal
• Incineration is the best
• If not available, burning and deep burial or
mixing with lime and deep burial as concrete
to prevent injuries and contaminating the
environment are done –
Not advised unless helpless
• What to do if injury happens?
- Inform the immediate manager/ responsible
officer
- Record
- Assess injury and attending
- Refer for further assessment, follow up,
counseling and testing by medical
professionals