Question

When working in a hospital, there are many risks/hazards that you will be confronted with on a daily basis. The following table identifies four (4) infection risks/hazards that may be present in a hospital environment. These hazards always need to be to be reported to a senior staff member or manager, documented correctly and control measures initiated.
Build on this table by identifying the likelihood and severity of harm from each hazard/risk by using the risk ranking matrix below, immediate steps that will need to be taken to manage the situation and possible procedures that will need to be put in place (minimum one point in each section).

Infection/Hazard. Risk rating. Severity of harm. Likelihood. Immediate actions. Risk Management Procedures

3.1)     Needle stick injury

3.2)     Blood spill on the corridor

3.3)     Exposure to blood/body fluids

3.4)     Contamination of materials, equipment and instruments by aerosols and splatter in an active TB client's hospital room

Answer 1

3.1 needle stick injury is a hazard

Your chances of catching a disease from a single needle stick are usually very low. About 1 out of 300 health care workers accidentally stuck with a needle from someone with HIV get infected. But for hepatitis B, the odds can be as high as nearly 1 in 3 if the worker hasn't been vaccinated for it.

Even though the acute physiological effects of a needlestick injury are generally negligible, these injuries can lead to transmission of blood-borne diseases, placing those exposed at increased risk of infection from disease causing pathogens, such as the hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and human ...

Mangement

For skin — if the skin is broken after a needle-stick or sharp instrument: Immediately wash the wound and surrounding skin with water and soap, and rinse. Do not scrub.

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

do not scrub the wound while you're washing it

do not suck the wound

dry the wound and cover it with a waterproof plaster or dressing

You should also seek urgent medical advice as you may need treatment to reduce the risk of getting an infection:

contact your employer's Occupational Health service if you injure yourself at work

there's a higher risk of infection, you may need:

antibiotic treatment – for example, if you have cellulitis (infection of the skin)  

vaccination against hepatitis B

treatment to prevent HIV

If there's a high risk of infection with HIV, your healthcare professional may consider treatment called post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP).