Sharps Awareness

There is a common misconception that sharps injuries only concern medical and care staff. However, it is not uncommon for people in other industries such as waste disposal to come into contact with used sharps.

This online Sharps Awareness E-Learning course'll examine some statistics about discarded needles. Then, we'll define 'sharps' and look at the different types found in 'sharps litter', ranging from needles, syringes, and scalpel blades to broken glass, knives, scissors, and nails.

The Sharps Awareness online course then covers the primary and secondary risks from sharps. The Sharps Awareness E-Learning course will look at the responsibilities of employers and how they must use risk assessment to ensure worker's safety as much as possible.

Then, the Sharps Awareness course will take a detailed look at Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, HIV and Tetanus.

There'll be a section on the Chain of Infection, helping you to understand how an infection gets passed on and what steps can be taken to break the chain and stop the process.

The online Sharps Awareness course will look at the probability of picking up an infection from a needlestick injury and the factors that can affect this.

It's always important to handle discarded sharps safely, so the course will take you through the necessary equipment, including litter pickers, forceps, disinfectant sprays and gloves, and the correct techniques to avoid injury. This subject will be further expanded by detailing the correct sharps handling procedures, including safely disposing of discarded sharps and removing disposable gloves to minimise cross-contamination and proper hand washing procedures.

Finally, the Sharps Awareness online course covers reporting discarded sharps and the correct procedures to follow if you're unlucky enough to receive a sharps injury.