ESTIMATED FINANCIAL COST OF NEEDLESTICK INJURES
6.1 As with most information concerning needlestick injuries the actual financial cost is not known. For instance, taking account of known legal costs and compensation paid; estimated loss of staff time and absence from work directly related to a needlestick injury; estimated cost of treatment for needlestick injuries, it is thought the current cost to the NHSScotland is around £260K. It must be stressed that is very much an estimated figure and clearly it would only require a few successful high cost claims for the £260K to quickly rise significantly. The risk of acquiring a serious transmissible disease does not appear large and is set out in Section 5. As already noted, it is important to recognise that many needles do not come into contact with patients and carry little risk of infection to staff and that while safer devices exist they are not applicable to all clinical procedures. Before safer devices are introduced NHS employers must evaluate the costs and benefits of introducing safer devices along with the risk of injury to staff, complemented by good practice and training.
HUMAN COST
6.2 Scotland has been fortunate in recent years in not knowingly having had needlestick injury cases with serious life threatening consequences. We cannot continue however to rely on good fortune against an increasing background of patients with HIV, Hepatitis B and C and CJD. The reality is that there is a potential risk of serious illness and of fatality and vigilance must be a priority for all staff who use needles.
COST BENEFIT ASSESSMENT
6.3 The working group attempted to analyse the potential costs and benefits of introducing safer devices throughout the NHSScotland. However due to large gaps in the information available a robust analysis could not be made. Some of the necessary information may be available at a local level and so the methodology employed has been included in Annex 3 along with a template for analysis and an illustration. The template utilises information available from published work where it is available. In those areas where published information is not available the template has been illustrated with figures derived from assumptions. In particular there are no robust estimates of the effectiveness of safer devices which is a critical factor in the template. A value has only been included to illustrate how the template works. The template is provided as a tool that can be used locally by Trusts and Health Boards as part of their evaluation of safer devices. The template is designed to be illustrative and should be considered in conjunction with local issues and information.
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Recommendation 27 |