Preventing sharps injuries to emergency workers
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health offers the following recommendations for employers and employees to prevent bloodborne pathogen exposures among paramedics and other emergency workers:
Employers
Show employees that safety is a core value in your organization. Require workers to follow all safety procedures and include this in their job performance evaluations.
Train employees about bloodborne pathogens, safe work practices, the proper use of safety devices and PPE, and other topics required by the Bloodborne Pathogens standard. Include the opportunity for questions and answers with the trainer.
Have a written Exposure Control Plan and update it annually.
Provide effective medical safety devices and involve frontline workers in their selection.
Provide appropriate PPE and encourage its use. PPE includes gloves; impermeable clothing; face shields or surgical face masks and eye protection; and mouthpieces, resuscitation bags, pocket masks, or other ventilation devices.
Develop effective techniques for extricating patients from enclosed places, handling combative or uncooperative patients, and avoiding vomitus.
Encourage workers to report all blood or body fluid exposures. Identify and address any barriers or attitudes that discourage reporting.
Review exposures to identify patterns and opportunities for prevention. Inform workers of the findings.
Implement a procedure for post-exposure evaluation and follow-up.
Offer free hepatitis B virus vaccinations, and encourage workers to get vaccinated.
Paramedics
Follow Universal/Standard Precautions and other safety procedures (see www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/bp_universal_precautions.html).
Attend bloodborne pathogens and other safety training.
Use appropriate safety devices provided by your employer.
Dispose of sharps properly.
Use appropriate PPE provided by your employer.
Avoid skin contact with blood, including on the arms.
Wash skin visibly soiled with body fluids with soap and water.
After skin contact with body fluids, even if skin is not visibly soiled, use antimicrobial soap and water or alcohol-based sanitizer.
Report all exposures to blood and other potentially infectious materials to management.
Get vaccinated against hepatitis B virus.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health offers the following recommendations for employers and employees to prevent bloodborne pathogen exposures among paramedics and other emergency workers:You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
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