Sharps disposal within the theatre Suite

[Beth Bint]

Good Morning All

I am interested to know what other facilities practices are for the disposal of sharps within the theatre suite.

At what point and where are disposable sharps disposed?

Is it within the theatre:
into a sharps container that is located within the room?
into a mobile sharps container that is brought into the theatre at the end of the case?

or

Is the instrument trolley removed from the theatre with the sharps to another zone/room where the sharps are removed?

If this information is readily known and it will not intrude on your valuable time, I would value as many responses as possible to assist with the evaluation of our current practice.

Thank you
Beth

Beth Bint

Infection Prevention and Control Clinical Nurse Consultant | Infection Management and Control Service
Level 1 Lawson House Wollongong Hospital
Tel 02 4222 5898 |beth.bint@SESIAHS.HEALTH.NSW.GOV.AU
http://www.health.nsw.gov.au
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[Terry Grimmond]

Hi Beth,

The literature has no reported instances of diseases transmitted via
aerosols from sharps containers, in the operating theatre or elsewhere. In
all the Operating Theatres I have visited, sharps are disposed of into
sharps containers (SC) sited in the operating room, as close as practical to
the point of use. This is consistent with Australian1 and international
guidelines2 which state that sharps must be disposed “immediately after
use”.

The siting of SC depends on the room’s work flow and is a decision made by
the surgical team – there are usually several SC used and these may be
sited:

. On the wall

. On a mobile stand that can be moved closer to the surgical field
if required

. Close to the anaesthetist (commonly on anaesthetic trolley)

. If long disposable sharps are used (biopsy forceps, staple guns,
etc,) these may require their own (deep) SC. An SC dedicated for long sharps
ensures that other sharps do not fill the bottom and cause long sharps to
protrude.

. Also, reusable sharp instruments that need be reprocessed need be
placed separately (not in a sharps container) to facilitate safe handling
and transport to sterile processing area post-procedure.

. Also, if single-use sharp medical devices are to be harvested for
reprocessing, these may require their own SC.

NSW DoH state1

. Isolation of the hazard is achieved by, “. the immediate placement
of a sharp in a rigid sharps disposal container situated at the ‘point of
use'”. (p18)

. “Sharps disposal containers must be placed (temporarily or
permanently) as close as practical to the point of use of sharp devices to
limit the distance between their use and disposal.” (p13)

AORN state2:

. “Keep used needles on the sterile field in a disposable
puncture-resistant needle container.” (TG comment – which is placed in a
sharps container at end of procedure)

. “Place the sharps container close to the point-of-use and maintain
it in an upright position either wall mounted or floor mounted.”

1. NSW Health. (2007). Policy and Guidelines for the Prevention of
Sharps Injuries in the NSW Public Health System. NSW Department of Health
Policy Directive PD2007-052. Available at:
http://www0.health.nsw.gov.au/policies/pd/2007/PD2007_052.html.

2. Sharps Safety in the OR – Lets Walk the Talk (PPT). Made available
by AORN temporarily (May 2014) at
http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/quality/patient-safety-tool-aorn-surgic
al-sharps-safety-resources.html

I cannot get access to ACORN guidelines but presumably they mirror the
above.

Hope this helps.

Terry Grimmond FASM, BAgrSc, GrDpAdEd

Consultant Microbiologist

Grimmond and Associates

Ph/Fx (NZ): +64 7 856 4042

Mob (NZ): +64 274 365 140

E: terry@terrygrimmond.com

W: http://terrygrimmond.com

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—–Original Message—–
Of Beth Bint

Good Morning All

I am interested to know what other facilities practices are for the disposal
of sharps within the theatre suite.

At what point and where are disposable sharps disposed?

Is it within the theatre:

into a sharps container that is located within the room?

into a mobile sharps container that is brought into the theatre at the end
of the case?

or

Is the instrument trolley removed from the theatre with the sharps to
another zone/room where the sharps are removed?

If this information is readily known and it will not intrude on your
valuable time, I would value as many responses as possible to assist with
the evaluation of our current practice.

Thank you

Beth

Beth Bint

Infection Prevention and Control Clinical Nurse Consultant | Infection
Management and Control Service Level 1 Lawson House Wollongong Hospital Tel
02 4222 5898
|beth.bint@SESIAHS.HEALTH.NSW.GOV.AU

http://www.health.nsw.gov.au
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District and Sydney Children’s Hospital Network (Randwick Campus)
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[Jennifer McCarthy]

Hi – in our facility the sharps are disposed of in the OR at the end of
the case by the scrub nurse. No sharps leave the room. We have 2 sharps
containers in the room – one for the anaesthetic end and one for the op
end.
Jenny McCarthy
Maryvale Private Hospital

—–Original Message—–
Behalf Of Beth Bint
Suite

Good Morning All

I am interested to know what other facilities practices are for the
disposal of sharps within the theatre suite.

At what point and where are disposable sharps disposed?

Is it within the theatre:
into a sharps container that is located within the room?
into a mobile sharps container that is brought into the theatre at the
end of the case?

or

Is the instrument trolley removed from the theatre with the sharps to
another zone/room where the sharps are removed?

If this information is readily known and it will not intrude on your
valuable time, I would value as many responses as possible to assist
with the evaluation of our current practice.

Thank you
Beth

Beth Bint

Infection Prevention and Control Clinical Nurse Consultant | Infection
Management and Control Service Level 1 Lawson House Wollongong Hospital
Tel 02 4222 5898 |beth.bint@SESIAHS.HEALTH.NSW.GOV.AU
http://www.health.nsw.gov.au
————————————————————————
———————

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Health District and Sydney Children’s Hospital Network (Randwick Campus)
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[ErinK]

Hi Beth

When I worked in the Austin Operating Suite, Melbourne, sharps were disposed of by the scrub nurse into a mobile sharps container either brought as close to the instrument trolley as possible by the scout nurse or tech, and/or trolley moved as close to the sharps container as possible. This was the same practice as when I worked in a cath lab in Townsville, QLD.
Anaesthetics sharps were disposed of in a sharps container attached to the anesthetic equipment trolley. For long sharps such as laparoscopic scissors, staples etc, these were safely contained in the tray on the trolley, and transported and disposed of by the scrub nurse in the decontamination room. This was because extra long sharps containers were in short supply and not widely used around the unit, so they were kept in a central area. Overall, disposal practice is dependent on resources available and the setup/architecture of the operating suites you have to work with, granted practice is meeting ACORN and quality/safety standards.

Hope this helps,

Kind regards
Erin Burrows

CQI Facilitator
Danila Dilba Health Service
Darwin, NT

Sent from my iPad

On 17/05/2014, at 9:51 AM, “Beth Bint” wrote:

> Good Morning All
>
> I am interested to know what other facilities practices are for the disposal of sharps within the theatre suite.
>
> At what point and where are disposable sharps disposed?
>
> Is it within the theatre:
> into a sharps container that is located within the room?
> into a mobile sharps container that is brought into the theatre at the end of the case?
>
> or
>
> Is the instrument trolley removed from the theatre with the sharps to another zone/room where the sharps are removed?
>
> If this information is readily known and it will not intrude on your valuable time, I would value as many responses as possible to assist with the evaluation of our current practice.
>
> Thank you
> Beth
>
>
> Beth Bint
>
> Infection Prevention and Control Clinical Nurse Consultant | Infection Management and Control Service
> Level 1 Lawson House Wollongong Hospital
> Tel 02 4222 5898 |beth.bint@SESIAHS.HEALTH.NSW.GOV.AU
> http://www.health.nsw.gov.au
> ———————————————————————————————
>
> Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District, South East Sydney Local Health District and Sydney Children’s Hospital Network (Randwick Campus) Confidentiality Notice
>
> This email, and the files transmitted with it, are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, you are not permitted to distribute or use this email or any of its attachments in any way. We also request that you advise the sender of the incorrect addressing.
>
> This email message has been virus-scanned. Although no computer viruses were detected, Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District, South East Sydney Local Health District and Sydney Children’s Hospital Network (Randwick Campus) accept no liability for any consequential damage resulting from email containing any computer viruses.
>
> We care for our environment. Please only print this e-mail if necessary.
>
> MESSAGES POSTED TO THIS LIST ARE SOLELY THE OPINION OF THE AUTHOR, AND DO NOT REPRESENT THE OPINION OF ACIPC.
>
> The use of trade/product/commercial brand names through the list is discouraged by ACIPC. If you wish to discuss specific reference to products or services by brand or commercial names, please do this outside the list.
>
> Archive of all messages are available at http://aicalist.org.au/archives – registration and login required.
>
> Replies to this message will be directed back to the list. To create a new message send an email to aicalist@aicalist.org.au
>
> To send a message to the list administrator send an email to aicalist-request@aicalist.org.au.
>
> You can unsubscribe from this list be sending ‘signoff aicalist’ (without the quotes) to listserv@aicalist.org.au

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