Alarming surge in needlestick injuries tackled with essential guide to proper medical waste disposal
Results of a new survey by The Harris Poll reveal that many patients receive too many needlesticks in hospital procedures, which amplifies misconceptions and lack of awareness from Americans on the risks of common medical procedures.
The “Accepted But Unacceptable” Practice of Repeated Needlesticks
Needlesticks are an often-overlooked challenge but can be one of the most traumatic aspects of a patient’s hospital stay. More than half of Americans (51%) report some fear of needles, and of that group, a top reason is fear of needing multiple needle insertions (31%).
The survey findings reflect that this concern isn’t unwarranted: a shocking 11% of survey participants with recent hospital experience needed 10 or more sticks to obtain a single blood sample – and more than half required multiple needlestick attempts for a single procedure (59% for IVs and 71% for blood draws). Moreover, 77% of patients are unaware that regardless of their conditions, patients should expect no more than two needlestick attempts from one clinician.
Nurses Agree That Repetitive Needlesticks Negatively Impact Patient Care Delivery and Workflow
Unsurprisingly, the survey highlights nurses’ strong concern about the impact of repeated needlesticks on the patient care experience. Most nurses agree that repeated needlesticks negatively impact the patient experience and say that alternatives are needed to reduce the number of needlesticks patients encounter (92% and 91%, respectively).
More than just providing a better experience, nurses agree that delays to patient treatment caused by difficult venous access or fear of needles are a problem (89% and 84%, respectively), and 67% agree that issues related to vessel access consume too much time and contribute to workflow inefficiencies.