Sharps injuries and needlesticks are a threat that most healthcare professionals are wary of. Safety procedures are implemented with the aim to mitigate the risks involved when working with sharps. These procedures usually succeed in doing so when followed correctly by staff that use and are in direct contact with sharps. When they aren’t followed …
Why Surgeons Prefer Traditional Scalpels over Safety Scalpels
Safety scalpels were first heavily promoted in response to a US legislation change in 2000 known as the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act. As the name might suggest, safety scalpels are active safety devices that are designed to protect their users. While the idea of safety scalpels being a functional solution might all be well …
Why you should be using passive safety devices
There is a lot to take into consideration when choosing tools that keep patients and staff safe. Devices that have safety features fall under one of two categories; passive safety, or active safety. Here’s a breakdown of what active and passive safety means and just how safe they are. What is active safety? An …
Is Your Sharps Safety Program Effective?
There is always the risk that a sharps injury will lead to a blood-borne infection and other consequences. Because of this, workplaces which use sharps such as scalpels and needles (including hospitals, aged care facilities, aesthetician clinics) need to make sure that a sharps safety program is in place. To make sure that your sharps …
Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Is Your Sharps Safety Program Effective?"</span>
Some Quick Statistics on Sharps Injuries
Here are some quick stats regarding sharps injuries in the healthcare industry – hospitals, clinics, and facilities. Scalpel cuts are the second most common injury in the operating theatres, accounting for 7% of the total number of reported injuries. Risks from the scalpel cuts have been documented including infection by HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, …
Continue reading<span class="screen-reader-text"> "Some Quick Statistics on Sharps Injuries"</span>
The Best Thing Since Sliced Flesh: A history of the surgical scalpel
The surgical scalpel is a tool that has seemingly transcended time– from its beginnings in the Stone Age to the shiny hospital of the modern era. Read on to discover how the surgical scalpel used today came to be. There is evidence of knives being used in medicine as far back as the Middle Stone …