Safe use of syringes and needles


Safe use of syringes and needles

Hazards: Pricking oneself or one’s colleagues .

Prevention:
  1. This may be avoided by very careful handling.
  2. Decontamination cleaning , sterilization of reusable needles , syringes, and lancets.
  3. Proper disposer of needles and syringes by incineration. Prior to incineration they should be discarded into jams or metal cans not into cardboard boxes.

Other hazards:

Other hazards arise from aerosol created  if  a  needle flies off the end of a syringe,
When pressure is applied to the plunger and the needle is blacked or when a needle is withdrawn through the rubber cap of  a vaccine type bottle.
·         The situation can be avoided by withdrawing the needle through a swab of cotton wool held over the vaccine bottle cap. This prevents needle vibration and takes care of leakage.
Sending specimens to a control or referral system: A specimen referral system will function reliably providing.
·          There is close communication between staff of the community based health facilities and the district hospital laboratory.
·         Out reach laboratories are supplied with specimen all containers, laboratory request forms.
·         Community health workers and district laboratory personnel are trained in the correct collection , Preservation and dispatch of specimens.
·         Correctly completed documentation accompanies all specimens and careful records are kept of referred specimens and test reports.
·         There is reliable and secure means of transporting specimens through out the year and retiring test results with the minimum of delay.

Types of medical record:

Medical records include:
  1. Laboratory test reports.
  2. Record of daily quality control information in the laboratory.
  3. Patients records-
ð  Particulars of the patients –name , age, sex , address, occupation etc.
ð  Date and time of attending in the hospital.
ð  Diagnosis ,treatment and advice.
  1. Medico –legal records,e.g., injury report, death certificate etc.
  2. Disease rerods:
ð  Clinical features of disease.
ð  Confirmatory disease.
ð  Provisional diseases..
  1. Drug recors:
ð  Stock list of drug.
ð  Receiving date of drug.
ð  Distribution date of drug.
ð  Daily short list of drug.