Nurses demand government funding to prevent needlestick injuries, saying their lives are being put at risk.

A needlestick injury can be a devastating event. Although the risk of contracting a blood borne pathogen is statistically low, the psychological trauma that follows the injury can be disabling. And even the smallest of risk is too high. This has led to nurses demanding government funding to prevent needlestick injuries, saying their lives are being put at risk because of inaction on the issue. Numbers for Australia show that every year at least 18,000 nurses and other healthcare employees are injured by syringes and sharps. However, currently only about half of healthcare workers report their...