title: Subcutaneous injections: preventing needlestick injuries in the community.
abstract: Community nurses provide care to patients in a variety of settings, for example health centres, community hospitals, patients' homes, residential and nursing homes. Administering subcutaneous injections to patients in the community is an everyday activity for many nurses in clinical practice. Many problems related to being 'sharps safe' are common to both community nurses and hospital staff. The majority of subcutaneous injections administered in the community are for patients with diabetes. Reducing needlestick injuries after the administration of subcutaneous injections in the community remains paramount to all NHS staff. This article provides information on what national standards to employ when administrating subcutaneous injections and what safety practices should be undertaken for good sharps management. Staff administering subcutaneous injections in the community need to ensure that they are updated on the latest developments in safety needle devices in order to prevent needlestick injuries and provide safe, effective and individualised care for their patients.
authors.affiliation: annmarieaziz@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Ann-Marie
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Aziz
mesh_terms: D000062:Accidents, Occupational / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003152:Community Health Nursing; D004867:Equipment Design; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D006801:Humans; D007279:Injections, Subcutaneous; D016602:Needlestick Injuries / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011482:Protective Devices; D006113:United Kingdom