Summary: This page focusses on how to handle and dispose of medical sharps safely and securely.
Who’s it for: All staff
Safe Handling of Sharps
A sharp is any medical instrument, device or object which can cause cuts or injury (e.g. a scalpel, needle, broken glass).
To prevent injury, we should always adhere to the following Do’s and Don’ts when handling sharps:
✅ Do
- Ask for help when using sharps with a confused or agitated patient.
- Use a sharps tray with an integrated sharps container which conforms to BS7320 and UN3291.
- Carry sharps containers away from the body, ensuring the the temporary closure mechanism is closed.
- Wear disposable gloves for invasive procedures and when there is a risk of exposure to contaminated sharps — see Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
- Avoid unnecessary use of sharps.
- Use the correct size sharps container, as determined by the volume of sharps generated.
- Store sharps containers out of reach of vulnerable people.
❌ Don’t
- Re-sheath a needle.
- Carry sharps in your hand — sharps containers should be available at the point of use.
- Leave sharps lying around.
- Pass sharps from person to person by hand.
- Attempt to retrieve an item from the sharps container.
- Place a sharps container on the floor.
- Place sharps containers inside waste bags prior to disposal.
- Use sharps containers for any other purpose than the disposal of sharps.
For certain procedures, needle-free equipment is available and must be used.
Needles with built-in safety features minimise the risk of injury. The use of needles with integrated safety features is essential in cases where there is a high risk of infection (e.g. taking the blood of a patient with potential hepatitis C), and preferred in all other instances.
Safe Disposal of Sharps
Sharps must always be disposed of immediately after use in a sharps bin at the point of use, by the person who used the sharp.
How to assemble a sharps bin
- Collect an appropriate sharps bin from the store room.
- Check that the lid of the sharps bin is on properly (see video 👉 for demonstration).
- Complete the label on the bin (including date and signature).
- Use wall and trolley brackets to place the sharps bin at approximately waist height or below shoulder level.
What type of sharps bin should I use?
Follow the guidance in this order:
- If sharp is contaminated with cytotoxic or cytostatic medicine → purple sharps bin
- If sharp is NOT fully discharged → yellow sharps bin
- If sharp is fully discharged, and contaminated with any medicinal products → orange sharps bin
See also Waste Management.
Using sharps bins
It is the personal responsibility of the individual using a sharp to ensure that it is disposed of safely. Regular audits will be completed to make sure we are handling and disposing of sharps appropriately.
- Needles and syringes must be disposed of together (do not separate). If it is necessary to detach the needle, great care must be taken, preferably using the device on the sharps container.
- Do not dispose of sharps with other clinical waste.
- After disposing of sharps, use the temporary closure device to close the bin.
- Once placed in the bin, a sharp cannot be removed.
- When filled to the manufacturer's marked line, or if used for 3 months (whichever comes first), the sharps bin should be locked/sealed securely, and labelled appropriately for final disposal via the licensed route (as described in the manufacturer's instructions).
- When moving a sharps bin, carry the bin by the handle or using a carry tray.
- Used sharps bins should be kept in a locked room, not accessible to patients or visitors.
- Damaged sharps bins should be placed in a large secure rigid container, which is properly labelled.
Collection of sharps bins
- If a patient brings in a sharps container, check that the container is secure, filled to the manufacturer's line, and labelled. Note the date of collection in the yellow sharps log at reception and transfer to the correct sharps bin.
- Reception team should make sure that sharps bins are collected every Thursday by waste management contractor SRCL.
Resources: