Posted By Peter Brown I have to do a presentation on "The dangers of syringers/needle sticks pose to operatives involved in litter collection" Can any body advise as to where i can get information and pictures for my presentation.

Posted By David Brede Just to widen out this thread slightly, what advice do others give to persons who have had needlestick injuries? I particular I am thinking about reporting of the medical condition and getting treatment. I was always inclined to advise that you use the A+E in the first instance tben go through your GP. However a trade union colleague says that their advice is to use clinics specialising in HIV and sexually transmitted diseases as these can be done anonymously and therefore avoids the test being recorded on your medical records. This means that such information does not get passed on to insurers and the like who may then be prejudiced against you as they assume that anyone having a test has a 'wayward' lifestyle! Any advice will be appreciated as always. David

Posted By Bryn Maidment Can't help with pictures but the main info you need to pass on is, that of all the viruses out there, Hepatitis B is the one to protect against. It is a robust thing that may remain transmissible for up to 2 weeks in dried blood. I stress the 'may'. Obviously the environmental conditions will play their part. It is a very wise move to get staff routinely conducting litter picking , where you know there is drug related paraphernalia, to be jabbed against Hep B. This can be done by their GP or an OHN and is relatively cheap. Your company must have a monitoring system that alerts staff when renewal is due. Most staff will ask about HIV but this is a very fragile organism outside the body and doesn't last long at all. Best use long handled litter pickers and hide gloves for handling. Don't forget the sharps boxes so that used syringes can be safely disposed. Hope this helps

Posted By Tony Overbury Peter In the event of a needlestick my immediate response would be to remove the needle and make the wound bleed (without sucking it!) and to treat outgoing blood as contaminated. (It should be wiped with a clean wipe from a first aid kit and disposed of as clinical waste - in the sharps bin would be good.) I would then suggest that the casualty is sent immediately to the nearest A&E department. I note the concerns about medical records and would be interested to hear other views on this. Recent experience has suggested that a needlestick caused by litter picking can, understandably, induce considerable anxiety in the casualty and prompt referral to medical attention can help put such concerns into perspective. My recommendation is that indirect handling of waste should be used at ALL TIMES where the waste is suspected to contain needles. By this I mean do not rely on gloves, but use litter pickers, tongs, shovels and other appropriate tools. Gloves are useful but: a) all the gloves I've seen are needle resistant not needle proof; b) the gloves reduce manual dexterity; and, c) the gloves are expensive and I do wonder how to decontaminate them. We use a variety of containers for waste containing needles. Sharps bins are used for single needles etc but one shot burn bins (medibins) are used for larger items such as blankets etc. We also use a proprietary disinfectant to spray over blood splashes. I hope this helps, but I would welcome any views on the above - either through the forum or via email. Tony Overbury