The European Parliament today voted in favour of a resolution from Liberal Democrat European Employment and Social Affairs Spokesperson Liz Lynne MEP calling for the immediate adoption of binding legislation to tackle needle stick injuries in the workplace.

The resolution follows a 6 year long campaign from Liz Lynne MEP, alongside the Nurses groups and others, for legislation at EU level to tackle the problem.

Speaking after the vote Liz said:

"There are over 1 million preventable needlestick injuries across the EU each year and many of those who are injured and their families face an agonising wait to find out whether they have contracted a blood borne infection such as HIV or Hepatitis C.

"Healthcare workers dedicate their lives to saving others and it is unacceptable they are being exposed to life threatening risks on a daily basis just by doing their job.

"This European Parliament resolution takes us one step closer to safer working practices and the mandatory use of medical devices that incorporate needle protection, changes I have campaigned to achieve for many years.

Notes to Editors:

For further information, comment or to book an interview, please contact Liz Lynne on 0032 2284 7521 or 07764 452725

Liz Lynne is Vice President of the European Parliament's Employment and Social Affairs Committee, which is responsible for Health and Safety in the Workplace.

Liz has campaigned for 6 years for an amendment to existing EU legislation on Biological Agents to ensure mandatory standards in the workplace to better protect healthcare workers and ancillary workers, including a ban on re-sheathing.

Background to the legislation

In 2006 the European Parliament adopted a resolution on protecting European healthcare workers from blood-borne infections due to needle-stick injuries. The resolution requested the Commission ‘to submit to EP within three months of the date of adoption of the resolution, a legislative proposal for amending Directive 2000/54/EC on biological agents’. This did not happen.

After years of pressure from the Parliament, the Commission did eventually draft an amendment to the biological agents directive last year, via a proposal for a directive, however this was dropped because the social partners (hospital employers and health worker unions) decided to enter formal negotiations, which they had no intention of doing until they knew that we had succeeded in getting the proposal through Parliament.

The social partners adopted an agreement last year and Liz Lynne's report is giving the Parliament's support for this. Once this is adopted by Member States, they will then have 2 years to bring in the changes.