Needle-stick and sharps injury

Reference material only. This article is general reference information, not clinical, medical or legal advice. It does not replace your clinic's own written emergency protocols, your clinical judgement, up-to-date professional guidance, or the emergency services. In an emergency, call 999 without delay. Every clinic remains responsible for its own emergency preparedness, training, equipment and drugs, and for acting within each practitioner's scope of competence and insurance.

A needle-stick or sharps injury, or a splash of blood or body fluid to broken skin, eyes or mouth, is an occupational exposure with a risk of blood-borne viruses. Acting quickly and calmly reduces that risk and protects your team.

Immediate first aid

• Encourage the wound to bleed gently under running water; do not suck it.
• Wash thoroughly with soap and running water; do not scrub.
• For eye or mouth splashes, rinse copiously with water (or saline for eyes).
• Cover the wound with a waterproof dressing.

Assess and report

• Follow your clinic's sharps/occupational exposure protocol and note the source patient if known.
• Seek urgent occupational health or A&E advice the same day: time-critical decisions about post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) for HIV, and hepatitis B management, are made quickly and are more effective the sooner they start.
• Record the injury in your accident/incident log and report it through the appropriate channels, including any statutory reporting duties.

Follow-up

The exposed person may need baseline and follow-up blood tests, vaccination or booster, and advice on precautions in the meantime. Support the staff member throughout; these events are stressful as well as clinical.

Prevention

• Never re-sheath needles; use a sharps bin at the point of use and do not overfill it.
• Use safety-engineered devices where available and keep the working area uncluttered.
• Ensure the team is up to date with hepatitis B vaccination and trained in safe sharps handling.