The Safer Healthcare and Biosafety Network (SHBN) is strongly supporting the establishment of an annual UK national database of blood & body fluid exposures (BBFE) in healthcare personnel (HCP).

The 2021 Royal College of Nursing Report on blood & body fluid exposures (BBFE) revealed an alarmingly high incidence of both sharps injuries and mucocutaneous exposures, however the UK has no national BBFE database from which to draw conclusions re trends and Covid impact.

SHBN, NHS England and three major OH and safety associations agree that a publicly available, high-level national BBFE annual survey is needed for national and healthcare facility BBFE benchmarking.

Dr Kevin Hambridge (Plymouth Univ.) and Terry Grimmond, two international BBFE researchers, are co-leading the BBFE Working Group, with the 2019-2021 BBFE survey occurring mid-2022. 

If you are willing to participate in the survey, simply email Ian Lindsley at ian.lindsley@shbn.org.uk with your name, title, email address and facility name – with “BBFE Survey” in email title. These details will not be shared with anyone – they are strictly for the BBFE survey.

Thank you in advance for your support with this important work.