Needlestick Injuries
All practices will have a needlestick injury policy for staff but practices often contact the LMC about patients who present with accidents at work, especially at care homes. Although patients have often been advised to “see your GP” by employers and, to coin a phrase, refusal often offends, the official guidance is quite clear. The NHS Choices website is offers the following national guidance:
“If you pierce or puncture your skin with a used needle, follow this first aid advice immediately:
- encourage the wound to bleed, ideally by holding it under running water
- wash the wound using running water and plenty of soap
- don’t scrub the wound whilst you’re washing it
- don’t suck the wound
- dry the wound and cover it with a waterproof plaster or dressing
You should also seek urgent medical advice: go to the nearest A&E department, or contact your employer’s occupational health service, if you injure yourself at work.”
Depending on the type of exposure, assessed using a risk pro forma or after discussion with a nurse specialist at Public Health England, specialist interventions such as administration of Hepatitis B immunoglobulin (which has to be obtained from Colindale public health laboratory) or Post-exposure prophylactic agents (PEP) may be required. General practice is not the place to get these expert assessments and resources to manage this potentially serious problem.