Reporting and surveillance

In addition to the normal workplace incident/injury reporting requirements, sharps safety programs should include the process of reporting any occupational exposure occurrences. An occupational exposure is a workplace exposure to blood or body fluids via a percutaneous route, via a sharp instrument or via a hollow bore needle. Occupational exposures can also occur via blood or body fluid contact with broken skin or mucous membrane. Where you have had an exposure to blood or body fluids, please seek medical attention for your injury and for an assessment of your risk. Please refer to Riskman to report you exposure and to your local procedure for any additional local requirements.

Information about occupational exposures and sharps injuries may be used by key stakeholders to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the program.

To report incidence rates and adequately measure effectiveness of interventions:

• facilities should collect accurate numerator (e.g. occupational exposures to blood and body fluids) and denominator data (e.g. the number of full-time-equivalent staff)
• data on sharps injuries should be analysed and interpreted to inform prevention planning
• timelines of introduction of safety devices and other interventions should be recorded on the surveillance plan to measure the effectiveness of the interventions
• occupational exposures should be analysed and reported regularly to the appropriate committee.

Surveillance of occupational exposures is different to other types of healthcare-associated infection surveillance.  It is a passive process that requires a staff member to voluntarily report an exposure incident. Periodic reviews should be used to measure reporting compliance and healthcare worker knowledge of procedures for reporting needle stick injuries e.g. standardised, anonymous questionnaire survey to determine reporting rate of needle stick injuries.

It is important to note that an increase in numbers may reflect increased reporting rather than increased incidents of needle stick injuries.