STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS. - Health and Safety …

1 STATUTORY No. 135 of 2014 EUROPEAN UNION (PREVENTION OF SHARPS INJURIES IN THEHEALTHCARE SECTOR) REGULATIONS 20142[135] No. 135 of 2014 EUROPEAN UNION (PREVENTION OF SHARPS INJURIES IN THEHEALTHCARE SECTOR) REGULATIONS 2014 ARRANGEMENT OF REGULATIONSPART 1 PRELIMINARY AND GENERAL1. 2 REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO THE USE OF SHARPS4. Sharps risk Elimination, prevention and Information and awareness Training and Response and 3 ENFORCEMENTC hapter 1 Powers of Inspectors10. Powers of Compliance Appeal against compliance Prohibition Appeal against prohibition notice.[135]3 Chapter 216. Prosecution of Service of [135] No. 135 of 2014 EUROPEAN UNION (PREVENTION OF SHARPS INJURIES IN THEHEALTHCARE SECTOR) REGULATIONS 2014I, RICHARD BRUTON, Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, in theexercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communi-ties Act 1972 (No.)

2 27 of 1972) and for the purpose of giving effect to CouncilDirective 2010/32/EU of 10 May 20101hereby make the following regulations:PART 1 PRELIMINARY PROVISIONSC itation1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Union (Prevention ofSharps Injuries in the Healthcare Sector) Regulations (1) In these Regulations Act of 2005 means the Safety , Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 ( 2005); Authority means the Health and Safety Authority; Biological Agents Regulations means the Safety , Health and Welfare at Work(Biological Agents) Regulations 2013 ( No. 572 of 2013); Directive means Council Directive 2010/32/EU of 10 May 20101implementingthe Framework Agreement on prevention from sharp injuries in the hospitaland healthcare sector concluded by HOSPEEM and EPSU; compliance notice shall be construed in accordance with Regulation 12(1); employee has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 2005; employer has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 2005.

3 Health care services means medical, surgical, diagnostic, nursing, paramedical,dental, chiropody, chiropractic, eye therapy, occupational therapy, physio-therapy or speech therapy services or treatment, or treatment or services pro-vided in connection therewith, or similar services or treatment; place of work has the same meaning as it has in the Act of 2005;1OJ No. L. 134, , p. of the making of this STATUTORY Instrument was published in Iris Oifigi il of18th March, 2014 .[135]5 prohibition notice shall be construed in accordance with Regulation 14(1); relevant worker has the meaning assigned to it by paragraph (3); relevant employer has the meaning assigned to it by paragraph (2); risk of exposure means the risk of exposure to injury or infection from sharps; sharps risk assessment has the meaning assigned to it by Regulation 4; sharps means objects or instruments necessary for the exercise of specifichealthcare activities, which are able to cut, prick or cause injury or infection.

4 (2) In these Regulations, relevant employer means (a) an employer whose main activity is the management, organisation orprovision of Health care services ( healthcare employer ), and(b) any other employer who provides services to a healthcare employerwhere those services are provided (i) under the authority of the healthcare employer, or(ii) in a healthcare employer s place of work.(3) In these Regulations, relevant worker (a) in relation to a healthcare employer, means (i) an employee of that employer, and(ii) any other individual who provides services to the healthcareemployer where that individual works under the authority of thathealthcare employer in that employer s place of work, and(b) in relation to any other employer referred to in paragraph (2)(b),means an employee of that other employer where (i) the employee is providing services on behalf of that otheremployer to a healthcare employer, and(ii) that other employer controls the activities of the employee in sofar as those activities relate to providing those services.

5 (4) A word or expression which is used in these Regulations and which is alsoused in the Directive has, unless the context otherwise requires, the same mean-ing in these Regulations as it has in the These Regulations apply to relevant employers in respect of their relevantworkers in relation to places of work where Health care services are [135]PART 2 REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO THE USE OF SHARPSS harps risk assessment4. (1) A relevant employer shall make a suitable and appropriate assessmentof the risk of exposure to relevant workers (in these Regulations referred to asa sharps risk assessment ) in accordance with this Regulation.(2) A relevant employer shall carry out a sharps risk assessment in accord-ance with (a) subparagraphs (iii) and (iv) of paragraph (b) of Regulation 5, Regu-lation 7 and subparagraph (a) of paragraph (1) of Regulation 14 of,the Biological Agents Regulations, and(b) sections 8, 10(1)(c), 11(4), 19, 20, 21 and 26(1)(b)(x) of, and Schedule3 to, the Act of 2005.

6 (3) In carrying out a sharps risk assessment, a relevant employer shall, for thepurposes of identifying how a risk of exposure can be eliminated and identifyingalternative systems that may eliminate or reduce the risk of exposure to a mini-mum, take account of (a) the available technology that eliminates or reduces the risk ofexposure,(b) how work is organised in the place of work,(c) working conditions,(d) the influence of factors related to the working environment, and(e) the level of qualifications of relevant workers.(4) This Regulation is in addition to, and not in substitution for, Regulations5 and 7 of the Biological Agents Regulations and sections 19 and 20 of the Actof , prevention and protection5.

7 (1) Where the results of a sharps risk assessment reveal a risk of exposureto a relevant worker, a relevant employer shall eliminate that risk in so far as itis reasonably practicable by (a) specifying and implementing safe procedures for using and disposingof sharps and disposing of contaminated waste,(b) eliminating the unnecessary use of sharps by implementing changes inpractice on the basis of that assessment,[135]7(c) providing medical devices incorporating Safety -engineered sharps pro-tection mechanisms, where those mechanisms are available andappropriate, and(d) subject to paragraph (2), banning the practice of recapping of needles.(2) Recapping of needles is permitted where the needles have Safety and pro-tection mechanisms and do not pose a risk of injury.

8 (3) A relevant employer shall, having regard to the activity and a sharps riskassessment, reduce the risk of exposure to as low a level as necessary toadequately protect the Health and Safety of a relevant worker, by (a) for the disposal of sharps, placing a notice of the procedures for dis-posal and clearly marked and technically safe containers for that dis-posal as close as possible to the area where the sharps are used orfound,(b) preventing the risk of infection by implementing safe systems ofwork by (i) developing a coherent overall prevention policy, which covers thematters referred to in subparagraphs (a)to(e) of Regulation 4(3),(ii) providing training to relevant workers,(iii) conducting Health surveillance in compliance with section 22 ofthe Act of 2005 and Regulation 12 of the Biological Agents Regu-lations, and(iv) providing suitable personal protective equipment for use by rel-evant workers.

9 (4) Where a sharps risk assessment reveals a risk to the Health and Safety ofrelevant workers due to their exposure to a biological agent for which an effec-tive vaccine exists, a relevant employer shall offer their relevant workers vac-cination.(5) A relevant employer shall ensure, in relation to any vaccination offeredunder paragraph (4), that relevant workers are informed of the benefits anddrawbacks of vaccination and failure to vaccinate.(6) A relevant employer shall ensure that any vaccination offered under para-graph (4) is made available free of charge to relevant workers.(7) A relevant employer, for the purpose of preventing a risk of exposure,shall (a) regularly reassess the safe procedures referred to in paragraph(1)(a), and8[135](b) ensure that those safe procedures form an integral part of the infor-mation and training given to relevant workers in accordance withRegulations 6 and 7.

10 (8) In this Regulation, vaccination where appropriate includes and awareness raising6. (1) A relevant employer shall ensure, where there is a risk of exposure torelevant workers, that sufficient and appropriate information is given relatingto (a) the risk of exposure to the Health and Safety of those employees,(b) precautions to be taken to prevent the risk of exposure,(c) the steps to be taken by those employees in the case of incidents andaccidents involving sharps, and(d) existing provisions in the Act of 2005, the General Application Regu-lations and the Biological Agents Regulations which apply for theprotection of employees from risks to Health and Safety from sharps.(2) A relevant employer shall advise relevant workers of (a) any support programme provided by that employer to relevantworkers who have suffered a sharps injury, and(b) good practices and safe systems of work regarding the prevention ofincidents and accidents involving sharps.