Some advice from my colleagues out there please.
As the years go by we are seeing an increasing number of IV drug abusers in our wards with all the problems they cause.The phlebotomists always get very upset when these patients are not identified by "DANGER OF INFECTION LABELS" on the request forms.The clinicians seem to take very little interest in
this problem saying that we should treat every specimen as potentially dangerous.The infection control people just shrug their shoulders.Do members insist that such patients be identified.Are they any different from patients with diarrhoea or MRSA positive patients ?Are we in breach of the Health and Safety At Work Act by not giving employees adequate enough
information to do their jobs in a safe manner?I dont insist that phlebotomists wear gloves in all occasions.I believe there are arguments for and against gloves.
On the same theme IV drugs abusers present phlebotomists with considerable technical problems in addition to infection risks.Does Near Patient Testing have any role here?
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