Hospitals turn gaze on safety of healthcare workers

Even as Needle Stick Injuries (NSI) are under reported in the country,a beginning has been made where city based hospitals have started documenting cases so that they can take care of the safety of their healthcare workers.

Even as Needle Stick Injuries (NSI) are under reported in the country,a beginning has been made where city based hospitals have started documenting cases so that they can take care of the safety of their healthcare workers. As many as 37 cases of NSI were documented at Ruby Hall Clinic in 2008 with three doctors suffering NSI and at Jehangir Hospital Nursing and housekeeping staff accounted for majority of the NSI.

These facts were disclosed at the Xth National Conference of Hospital Infection Society India organised at the Balgandharva Rang Mandir on Friday. Posters have been displayed at the art gallery by various hospitals that point out NSI is an important aspect of health care worker (HCW) safety. The theme of the conference is,”What has changed in the last decade-infections or our approach to them.”

Reporting of NSI has been a major hurdle,Dr Nita Munshi,organising secretary of the conference told this paper.

At Ruby Hall Clinic,out of 37 HCW who were infected with NSI,21 were staff nurses,three doctors,11 house-keeping staff and two students. Munshi points out that since Ruby Hall Clinic has actively set up a surveillance and reporting system,the doctors are able to document cases and even take interventions to ensure the safety of the health care workers.

At Jehangir hospital too,nursing and housekeeping departments accounted for majority of NSI- 76.7 per cent,according to a poster presentation by Rohini Dhawale and Dr Vikram Padbidri.

At Jehangir hospital,too,there has been an active system of reporting NSI since four years and hence they were able to undertake an intervention programme.

“Needle stick injuries are associated with a number of blood borne infections and are common among HCWs,” says Munshi.

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Doctors unanimously felt that there should be a surveillance system of specific NSI and analysing the injury data on a periodic basis to identify areas of concern for prevention of diseases.

Anuradha Mascarenhas

Anuradha Mascarenhas is a journalist with The Indian Express and is based in Pune. A senior editor, Anuradha writes on health, research developments in the field of science and environment and takes keen interest in covering women's issues. With a career spanning over 25 years, Anuradha has also led teams and often coordinated the edition. ... Read More

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