Sharps Awareness Course

About This Course

This course lasts around 55 minutes.

There is a common misconception that sharps injuries are only of concern to 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.

In this course, we’ll start by looking at some statistics relating to discarded needles, then define ‘sharps’ and look at the different types that can be found in ‘sharps litter’, ranging from needles, syringes and scalpel blades to broken glass, knives, scissors and nails.

The Sharps Awareness Course then covers the primary and secondary risks from sharps. It’ll look at the responsibilities of employers and how they must use risk assessment to ensure workers safety, as much as possible.

The Sharps Awareness Course then 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. It’ll look at the probability of picking up an infection from a needlestick injury, and the factors that can affect this.

It’s essential always to handle discarded sharps safely so the Sharps Awareness Course will take you through the equipment you need, including litter pickers, forceps, disinfectant sprays and gloves, along with the correct techniques you should employ to avoid injury. This subject will be further expanded on by detailing the proper sharps handling procedures, including how to dispose of discarded sharps safely, how to remove disposable gloves to minimise cross-contamination and correct handwashing procedures.

Finally, it’ll cover how to report discarded sharps and the correct procedures to follow if you’re unlucky enough to receive a sharps injury.

The Sharps Awareness Course is aimed at anyone who may come into contact with sharps waste while performing their day to day working activities and ranges from people working in healthcare to those in waste disposal with a wide range of other people also being at risk.

Knowledge of the dangers associated with sharps, safe handling techniques and use of appropriate PPE will help you to protect yourself from the risks. CPD approval means that this course can be used by those that need to prove they are continually developing themselves.

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Who Is This Course For?

This course is suitable for healthcare workers, educators, and care professionals who wish to develop their knowledge of sharps awareness course.