New Europe-wide Healthcare Worker Safety Website Launched by BD

BD has announced the launch of a new Europe-wide safety website, designed to help healthcare organizations improve healthcare worker safety and comply with impending legislation on sharps injury prevention. The website is designed to help healthcare workers and their organisations comply with new legislation which is due to come into force shortly.

Forward-thinking healthcare organisations across Europe have already realised the benefit of introducing safer working practices before the mandatory deadline, and have acted early. The benefits of taking this approach are clear, and for organisations representing nurses and healthcare workers, introducing a culture of safety rests on affecting change at a number of levels.

The EU Directive on sharps injury prevention provides a much needed opportunity to establish a mandatory framework for eliminating sharps injuries, and must be incorporated into national law in all EU member states by 11 May 2013 at the latest.

Kim Sunley, Senior Employment Relations Advisor, Royal College of Nursing (RCN), says, “The RCN played a key role in calling for the EU Directive, which presents us with a great opportunity to lead the way, and there’s no reason why hospitals in the UK can’t set the standard. Working alongside BD has helped to reflect the importance of the nursing voice as we try to reduce the risk of sharps injuries. By working together with healthcare professionals and management, we can create a culture of safety for all nursing staff.”

Alexandre Conroy, President, Western Europe, BD, reinforces BD’s stance on safety: “BD is committed to raising awareness of the everyday risks faced by healthcare workers, and the precautions they can adopt to improve safety. We hope that this new website will become an important portal for the provision of information, guidance and best practice in the industry.”

The website can be found at: http://www.bd.com/europe/safety.