Needle-stick reporting among surgeons.

摘要

All practising surgeons, trainees and consultants, should pay attention to the warning signs in this research as it could have far reaching consequences for not only their career but also their health and that of their families. I wanted to comment on a number of issues raised in the discussion. Thomas and Murray limited the retrospective study to one centre having no reason to believe that its findings were not representative of the wider problem. To expand on that, a study I co-wrote, looked at the barriers to needle-stick injury (NSI) reporting by a sample of all grade of surgeons, in various specialities, in three UK hospitals representing a rural, district and tertiary hospital. Seventy questionnaires were hand delivered and the number of injuries and reporting practice was identified. Surgeons were asked to identify from a list the reasons why they did not report their injuries and record importance on a 5-point Likert scale (1-5). There was also a free-text section for additional comments. A total of 52 surgeons and trainees replied (75%). Of these, 42 (81%) had at least 1 NSI with four (8%) reporting more than 20 in their surgical career. Eight (19%) had reported all then- injuries to occupational health and only 24 (46%) were aware of the NSI hospital policy. These findings reflect those of Thomas and Murray and emphasise the problem of under-reporting of NSI among surgeons in UK hospitals.