Ansell Partners with EORNA to Educate European Healthcare Workers on Sharps Directive

BRUSSELS, May 10, 2013

Ansell, a global leader in protective solutions, has developed a new education module, "Prevention of Sharps Injuries in the Healthcare Setting," to help support the European Union Directive (2010/32/EU) for implementing the Framework Agreement on prevention of sharp injuries in the healthcare sector.

The directive mandates that by 11 May 2013, all Member States must implement the necessary measures to ensure compliance and that penalties shall be imposed for infringing on these requirements. The new education module from Ansell supports compliance by providing healthcare workers with best practices for protecting against sharps injuries and reducing the risk of exposure to bloodborne pathogens.

"Occupational exposure to bloodborne pathogens via percutaneous injuries is one of the most serious dangers healthcare workers face on a daily basis..," said Peter Dobbelsteijn, SVP & Regional Director EMEA, Ansell. "This risk can be reduced through implementation of the EU Directive, employee education, clear communication, use of engineered devices, and focused work practice controls. Ansell   helps reduce the risk of injuries like these by providing quality educational opportunities, such as this new educational course,  and technologically advanced protection and prevention solutions."

Ansell has a long-standing commitment to advancing the education of healthcare workers in Europe. The sharps injuries education module is the seventh course developed and sponsored by Ansell that is accredited by the EORNA ACE (Accreditation Council for Education), the independent European body for nursing event accreditation, hosted by the European Operating Room Nurses Association (EORNA).

"The majority of sharps injuries occur to nurses because they are most likely to be carrying out procedures using sharps. The main objective of EORNA is to educate healthcare workers on ways to enhance the standard of care for patients in the perioperative environment, and to promote staff welfare," said Caroline Higgins, President, EORNA. "It is our pleasure to partner with Ansell in achieving this goal."

The new Ansell education module will be available on http://www.ansell.eu and http://www.eorna.eu. The module, accredited by EORNA ACE, will provide nurses 0.7 accreditation points upon completion.