NeedleDock offers 100 free trial samples of its safer sharps bin to hospitals, medical centres and labs
NeedleDock is offering 100 free trial samples of its new safe sharps bin to Cambridgeshire hospitals, medical centres, veterinary practices and laboratories.
The start-up, a finalist in the Cambridge Independent Science and Technology Awards, says the trial will demonstrate how the design of the NeedleDock ND5 can help protect staff from needle-stick injuries and reduce incineration waste bills.
WIth the flu season upon us, and hopes of an impending global Covid-19 vaccination programme, the product is poised to make a significant impact.
Alarmingly, one million needle-stick injuries are reported in Europe each year. Of these, nearly 400,000 occur after the needles have been used and are therefore contaminated - an illustration that existing disposal methods are not keeping medical workers safe. The NHS spends more than £4million per year in litigation claims.
NeedleDock says its product addresses this significant problem.
Cambridge-based industrial designer Paul Brown, NeedleDock’s CTO, said: “The hundreds of millions of hypodermic needles that are forecast to be used in the Covid-19 global vaccination program should to be used and disposed of in a way that is safer for nurses, which the NeedleDock ND5 can offer.
“Also the vast amount of needle and syringe waste could be disposed of with up to 70 per cent reduction in incineration costs if NeedleDock was deployed in more medical practices.”
The offer is open to hospitals, medical centres and doctor’s surgeries, dentist’s, universities, research labs, veterinary practices and biotech companies.
The product, which has passed all required safety tests, enables the user to dock the syringe safely with one hand and removes the hypodermic needle at the point of use using a unique mechanism. It locks the dangerous sharps away in a tough, tamper-proof and spill-proof container below.
Safety is enhanced by the ND5’s patented sprung opening, which is smaller than the needle shank. Traditional sharps bins often have large openings which leave needles dangerously exposed.
Use of the ND5 can also reduce waste costs because it compacts the needles and segregates them from the syringes, swabs, cotton wool and cardboard packaging for disposal in standard yellow-bagged medical waste bins, which is a lower cost waste stream than incineration.
The efficiency of the products means purchasing costs should also be reduced.
The ND5 only accepts hypodermic needles and can hold up to 600. Small and compact, it can be safely positioned next to a patient’s bed. The sharps container itself is injection moulded, while underneath the product is a stabilising base which fixes the ND5 to a worktop or wall bracket, enabling the quick and easy replenishment of fresh units. It can also sit on a bedside trolley or carried around.
The product has been developed by Paul with Bury St Edmunds-based Chris Stanton, along with a team of engineers, healthcare professionals and ergonomics experts.
They point out that current medical sharps bin are very inefficient, containing only four per cent sharps items and 96 per cent non-sharps waste.
Use of the ND5 offer a potential 70 per cent reduction in sharps bin waste disposal costs and a 40 per cent reduction in single-use plastic waste.
Some 87 per cent of sharps injuries are caused by needles, they add.
The ND5 has won an East of England investment award and is an Enterprise Network Grant award winner.
NeedleDock says it has had positive feedback from medical staff and has seured orders from several international distributors in UAE, Europe and the Far East.
UK-based bulk manufacture is now being ramped up.
NeedleDock is shortlisted for Medtech Company of the Year at the 2020 Cambridge Independent Science and Technology Awards, with the winners due to be announced early next year.
To apply for a free sample, email sales@needledock.com. Find out more at needledock.com.
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Finalists in the 2020 Cambridge Independent Science and Technology Awards revealed
