Safety

UK strengthens screenings for healthcare worker infections

OSHA Healthcare Connection, March 20, 2007

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British healthcare workers will face stricter pre-employment screenings for tuberculosis (TB) and bloodborne infections.

A guidance released last week by the Department of Health recommends checking healthcare workers for TB and hepatitis B. Healthcare workers performing exposure-prone procedures should undergo additional screening for HIV and hepatitis C. The screenings apply to all healthcare workers new to the job and workers returning to employment with the National Health Service (NHS).

"Our aim is not to prevent new healthcare workers with bloodborne viruses from working in the NHS, but to stop them working in clinical areas where their infection may pose a risk to patients in their care," said Public Health Minister Caroline Flint said in a March 16 news release.



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