Potential for reported needlestick injury prevention among healthcare workers through safety device usage and improvement of guideline adherence: expert panel assessment B.L. Cullen a, *, F. Genasi a , I. Symington b , J. Bagg c , M. McCreaddie d , A. Taylor e , M. Henry a , S.J. Hutchinson a , D.J. Goldberg a a Health Protection Scotland, Glasgow, UK b North Glasgow NHS Occupational Health Service, Glasgow, UK c Glasgow Dental Hospital and School, Glasgow, UK d School of Health, Nursing and Midwifery, University of Paisley, Paisley, UK e Institute for Applied Social and Health Research, School of Social Sciences, University of Paisley, Paisley, UK Received 15 December 2005; accepted 13 April 2006 Available online 13 June 2006 KEYWORDS Needlestick injuries; Healthcare workers; Prevention; Safety devices; Guideline adherence Summary A prospective survey was conducted over six months in order to estimate the proportion of reported occupational needlestick injuries sus- tained by National Health Service (NHS) Scotland staff that could have been prevented through either safety device introduction, improved guide- line adherence, guideline revision or a combination of these. This survey involved the administration of a standard proforma to healthcare workers followed by an expert panel assessment. All acute and primary care NHS Scotland trusts, the Scottish Ambulance Service and the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service were included. Proforma and expert panel as- sessment data were available for 64% of injuries (952/1497) reported by healthcare staff. These injuries were all percutaneous. The expert panel concluded that: 56% of all injuries and 80% of venepuncture/injection administration injuries would probably/definitely have been prevented through safety device usage, 52% of all injuries and 56% of venepuncture/ injection administration injuries would probably/definitely have been * Corresponding author. Address: Health Protection Scotland, Blood Borne Virus & Sexually Transmitted Infection Section, Clifton House, Clifton Place, Glasgow G3 7LN, UK. Tel.: þ44 141 300 1404; fax: þ44 141 300 1170. E-mail address: beth.cullen@hps.scot.nhs.uk 0195-6701/$ - see front matter ª 2006 The Hospital Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jhin.2006.04.008 Journal of Hospital Infection (2006) 63, 445e451 www.elsevierhealth.com/journals/jhin