Guideline Profile : Safety Needles

The Surrey Heartlands Integrated Care System Area Prescribing Committee have agreed that with regards to safety needles and lancet prescribing.
1.    Employers to provide their employees with safety needles and safety lancets and an FP10 should not be generated unless:
•    for patients whose insulin is administered by a non-paid carer (not employed by an outside agency) or relative who has been appropriately trained AND

EITHER
•    where the patient is known to have a blood born virus e.g., HIV 
OR 
•    known to be aggressive – e.g., some dementia patients can become aggressive when insulin injections are needed. 

2.    Where safety needles and lancets are to be prescribed the most cost- effective product should be chosen that is <£13 (per 100) AND <£5 (per 100) respectively.

The Surrey Heartlands Integrated Care System Area Prescribing Committee agree that safety needles need to be supplied by the employer of the healthcare professional administering the treatment.

It may be appropriate to prescribe safety needles in certain circumstances and to certain groups of patients. This piece of work is ongoing and the PAD will be updated once this work is completed.

Information relating to other (non-safety) diabetic needles can be found here: Guidelines : Diabetic pen needles (res-systems.net)