Peterborough City Hospital, a 10 year partnership

Whilst searching for a safer sharps management system, the Trust came across Sharpsmart’s reusable sharps containers. The Trust found that by utilising the pre-built safety engineered device that restricts hand access through its safety tray mechanism, they would be able to significantly reduce the risk of disposal related injuries that have previously been sustained whilst using their current container system.

On further review of containers, it was also found that the reusable system would provide additional sustainable benefits. The extended lifecycle of the reusable containers, along with Sharpsmart’s alternative waste treatment processes, would reduce the need to manufacture and subsequently incinerate single-use plastics, meaning the site would reduce carbon emissions emitted from container and waste disposal.

In May of 2012, Peterborough’s Environmental and Sustainability Manager contacted Sharpsmart to begin the implementation of the new system. Due to the high level of NSIs being sustained, Sharpsmart and the Trust agreed to move forward as quickly as possible to avoid any further risk of injury.

Sharpsmart immediately conducted a full ward walk of the site to assess current sharp practices, generated waste volumes, and waste streams. The team then consulted with key stakeholders from Health & Safety, Infection Prevention & Control, Estates & Facilities, and Occupational Health to ensure that they were provided with the correct container and accessory solutions in line with their clinical needs and to ensure compliant ANTT (Aseptic Non Touch Technique) practices.

In June of 2012, following the consultation and thorough understanding of all stakeholder requirements, the Sharpsmart team fully installed the reusable container system across the 650-bed site within five days.