Frequently Asked Questions

Sharpsmart has grown our business organically within the UK over the past 10 years and continues to provide an incredible opportunity for our employees to grow within their careers. As a sustainable organisation, we choose our target customers carefully and ensure that we have a complete sustainable option available in all areas of the UK. In some instances, we do not want to service accounts that are outside of our optimal service area whether that be in terms of Sharpsmart processing or waste disposal sites. We want to ensure that when we choose a customer, we keep them for life and that we service them impeccably. Our growth is carefully planned to ensure long term stability of the business. Our target is to grow our business between 15-20% per annum, a goal we have achieved every year for the past 10 years. In addition to the Sharpsmart system, we also provide a number of other products designed to align with the previously highlighted 5 needs therefore we have other servicing options available to our customers. All business have to ensure that they focus on targeted growth that is laid out in our business plan. Sharpsmart Ltd is totally satisfied with its growth, its customer relationships and its pipeline for future growth therefore we are delighted to hold 20% of the NHS share of a product that is providing incredible benefits to the healthcare workers and environment within the UK. Our exemplary reputation has resulted in relationships with waste management companies and Facilities Management companies who are now specifying Sharpsmart as their partner and preferred option. Sharpsmart UK is the flagship of the global business due to its innovation, customer loyalty and its ability to grow and remain profitable whilst providing unrivalled benefits to the NHS. This in an environment that is highly focused on cost savings. It is the unwavering focus on the needs of the customer that will ensure Sharpsmart continue to grow by providing benefits for its stakeholders, staff and customers for many years to come.

Sharpsmart can manage the clinical waste needs of all healthcare facilities irrespective of size from the largest acute care facility down to a single physicians office. We have clinical waste and sharps disposal containers for all the specific waste streams these facilities generate, including clinical waste, sharps waste, pharmaceutical waste, cytotoxic waste, anatomical and hazardous waste.

Sharpsmart transports our customers’ clinical waste using its own fleet of vehicles and all vehicles are operated by Sharpsmart’s trained drivers.

Sharpsmart services cater to all businesses nationally, from small independent practices with low waste volumes and pickup frequencies including veterinary clinics, surgical centres and long term care, right through to large scale laboratories, universities and multi-campus hospitals. We have clinical waste and sharps disposal containers for all the specific waste streams these facilities generate, from clinical waste, sharps waste, pharmaceutical, anatomical and cytotoxic waste.

Sharpsmart can service all clinical, sharps, pharmaceutitcal and cytotoxic waste streams generated by healthcare facilities, together with all other non-clinical waste streams including solid waste, chemicals and secure document shredding.

The Sharpsmart system is available through NHS Supply chain. The delivery would be provided by Sharpsmart Ltd. The waste element of the Sharpsmart service is procured outside of the NHS framework agreement for sharps containers. Waste disposal can be procured directly from Sharpsmart Ltd via CPC NOE or Health Trust Europe framework agreements, or can continue to be provided by your existing waste company.

Yes, provided that the sharps volume data you gave us for the Cost Benefit Analysis included ALL containers used for sharps disposal, costs will not rise further than that agreed upon. Costs can rise however if the institution’s workload rises or procedures involving sharps change.

Yes. As a licensed company, Sharpsmart is obligated to ensure the safe disposal of your clinical waste. A contract helps us understand where the waste is coming from and helps you to ensure a licensed company is collecting and disposing of your waste.

Contract lengths vary depending on the facility’s requirements. We will provide a copy of the standard contract for review and have never not rolled out of lost an account due to contract length. Generally the supply of the system will be procured in line with EU procurement regulations or as part of a framework agreement.

When comparing clinical waste companies, consider their compliance with regulatory standards, the efficiency and safety of their waste disposal solutions, their environmental sustainability practices across the full life-cycle, customer service quality, and the ability to provide comprehensive waste management education and support.

There are a number of factors that determine the costs of the Sharpsmart system per annum. The total cost is dependent on the number of turns required per annum, the amount of waste being disposed of and whether we are engaged as the waste disposal company as well as the container provider. We have developed a value analysis tool which will ensure that our customers can evaluate every cost associated with the supply and in-use phase of the system. Our customers can procure our services under a ‘per turn’ option or a single monthly fixed fee approach which can be adjusted if/when volumes increase or decrease. It is worth noting that the introduction of a safety engineered system reduces the waste disposal volumes by over 33% which will have a huge reduction effect on your waste management (incineration) costs.

Sharps management costs (containerisation plus sharps injury costs) are less with Sharpsmarts. Hard costs (cost of purchasing containers) are typically similar to other container systems. The Sharpsmart system gives the best return on sharps-reduction investment. Compared with other engineered safety devices such as needle-less systems and safety syringes (costing several times more than the standard devices they are replacing), the Sharpsmart system offers a significant reduction in sharps injuries for a similar cost as current sharps containers. In their efforts to reduce sharps injuries to staff, healthcare organisations often spend huge amounts of money on implementing systems and purchasing safety devices that are proven to cause fewer injuries. The Sharpsmart system is one of the few sharps safety devices that is both proven to reduce sharps injuries and is comparably priced with the device it replaces.

Please refer to the table on this page www.sharpsmart.co.uk/contracts-and-billing

Please refer to the table on this page www.sharpsmart.co.uk/contracts-and-billing