Protecting European healthcare workers from blood borne infections due to needle stick injuries

 The committee adopted the second report by Stephen HUGHES (PES, UK) on protecting European healthcare workers from blood-borne infections due to needlestick injuries. At the plenary sitting of  13 June 2006 it had been decided to refer the first report back to committee for further consideration.

The second report was almost identical to the first, apart from a slight modification in the wording of one of the specific provisions - concerning devices with safety features - to be inserted into Directive 2000/54/EC (Article 15). The new provision stated that "on the basis of risk-assessment, moves should be made towards ensuring that appliances with safety features, where they exist, are used efficiently and in a targeted manner in areas with a particularly high risk of accidents or infection, taking into account the cost/benefit ratio".