Health and Safety Needle Safety Awareness

Needle Safety Awareness

Training Course

This is a half-day classroom-based awareness course including discussion, equipment examples, and a short knowledge check. No previous experience is necessary.

A maximum of 16 learners is recommended to support discussion and participation.

Learners should normally be at least 16 years of age.

This awareness course does not by itself demonstrate competence to undertake clinical procedures, handle specialist sharps, or manage an exposure incident. Employers must provide suitable task-specific instruction, practical training, supervision, and access to local procedures before authorising these activities.

This awareness course helps learners recognise the risks associated with needles and other sharps and understand the controls required for safe handling, use, disposal, and incident response. It is suitable for employees in healthcare, care, cleaning, waste, beauty, and other settings where sharps may be used or found.

Needlestick and sharps injuries may expose workers to blood-borne viruses and other infection risks. This course introduces practical prevention measures and the duties placed on employers and employees by health and safety law, including the Health and Safety (Sharp Instruments in Healthcare) Regulations 2013 where they apply.

A range of subjects are covered including:

Understanding what needles and sharps are, where exposure may occur, and why contaminated sharps can create a risk of hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HIV, and other infection.
Recognising higher-risk activities including injections, blood sampling, disposal, cleaning, laundry, waste handling, community work, and responding to discarded needles.
Understanding employer and employee responsibilities, risk assessment, information, training, consultation, vaccination arrangements, and the use of safer sharp devices where reasonably practicable.
Applying safe working practices including preparing the work area, maintaining control of the sharp, keeping hands behind the point, and never bending, breaking, forcing, or recapping a used needle by hand.
Using safety-engineered devices correctly and activating the safety feature immediately after use in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.
Disposing of sharps immediately at the point of use into the correct, assembled, and labelled sharps container without overfilling, reaching inside, pushing contents down, or leaving the container unsecured.
Responding safely to discarded or misplaced needles by isolating the area, preventing access, following local procedures, and using approved collection equipment rather than picking them up by hand.
Taking immediate action after an exposure incident by gently encouraging a puncture wound to bleed, washing with soap and water, flushing splashes to the eyes or mouth with water, reporting promptly, and obtaining urgent medical or occupational health advice.

Assessment is ongoing through learner participation, questioning, and completion of a short knowledge check. There is no formal grading; learners pass or are referred.

A certificate of attendance is issued on successful completion. Refresher training should be considered when equipment, duties, risk controls, workplace procedures, or recognised guidance change.

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If you would like to find out more about the above courses, to find out more about Synergy Training Services or to enquire about making a course booking, please get in touch.

PLEASE NOTE: A minimum of 6 attendees are required to be booked on to each course in order for the courses to commence.