Hospital Safety
Sharpsmart’s ultimate mission is making ‘Making Healthcare Safer’. For us, there’s no higher priority than the well-being of healthcare workers and patients.
Redefining Hospital Waste Safety Norms
At Sharpsmart, safety is the bedrock of everything we do. From our safety-engineered containers to scientifically validated and industry-first robotic washing systems, every solution we provide is designed to protect frontline staff, reduce risk of bloodborne illnesses and eliminate cross-contamination. With globally attested peer-reviewed data and decades of clinician partnership across the UK’s leading hospitals, we deliver systems that supercharge the safety and infection control standards of hospitals across the UK.
How We Build Safety into Every Step
Our approach to safety is intentional and clinically led. From product design to education and data reporting, Sharpsmart works alongside clinical staff and hospital leadership to ensure that the safety of healthcare is always the number one priority.
- Engineered to reduce needlestick injuries – Our industry leading Sharpsmart reusable sharps container was developed through years of R&D and clinical research. Features include a hand-restricted tray, overfill protection, and temporary and permanent safety locks. Hospitals have reported an 86.6% reduction in container-related needlestick injuries after converting to Sharpsmart.
- Like-new-sanitisation – Reusable containers are cleaned to a 6-log bacterial load reduction – a high-level disinfection far exceeding international standards.
- Contamination-resistant design – Smooth, non-porous surfaces help prevent microbial build-up and simplify cleaning. Puncture-resistant ABS plastic helps prevent spills and penetration.
- Education that sticks – Tailored training, awareness campaigns, signage, and SOPs reinforce safe behaviour and compliance.
Royal College of Nursing’s Sharps Safety Survey
A survey of RCN members (RCN 2021) identified that of the 7,500 respondents:
- 15% of nurses had an injury in the last year, with 3% sustaining more than one injury.
- 17% did not formally report their injury.
- 21% had a mucocutaneous exposure in the last year.
- 40% had not received disease risk advice.
- 63% have had a sharps injury in their career.
This emphasises the need for safer systems to be in place in every hospital.
From the Start
Our commitment to safety and infection prevention began at the height of the AIDS epidemic. In 1986, Dan Daniels, our founder and CEO, saw the real danger that nurses faced disposing of needles in unsafe, lacklustre sharps bins.
Motivated to protect these frontline healthcare workers, Dan sold his family business and invested every penny into creating a better solution. The result of that investment was the Sharpsmart, the world’s first clinically engineered reusable sharps container, designed with 13 inbuilt safety features to reduce risk and protect frontline staff.
The vision didn’t stop at a container. Recognising that infection control was as high as a priority as needlestick injuries, Dan steered the invention of a high-pressure robotic washing machine that achieves the high-level disinfection of a 6-log reduction – a 99.9% microbial kill rate. Dan’s innovative approach expanded this safety-first mindset to every waste stream generated within clinically-facing hospital environments.
Under the continued leadership of Dan Daniels, we remain an industry North Star for safety and infection control standards.
Sharpsmart Sharps Container Safety Features
Gravity Balanced Safety Tray
Safety tray restricts hand-access. Sharps are released away from the user into the collector; removing risk of bouncing or rollback of sharps.
Maximum Strength Hardened Plastic
Impenetrable by contained sharps. Tested to an amazing 500 wash cycles, the Sharpsmart is the only sharps container in the United Kingdom which has not had any incident reports citing needle penetration.
Check Content Levels
Clearview window identifies the fill level of the collector without showing messy contents.
Temporary Front Lock
Temporary locking closure provides for the safe movement of collectors.
Wide Opening
Largest deposition area in the industry allows for single-handed disposal of sharps; contents protection shield eliminates risk of needlestick injuries.
Eliminates Overfilling
Tray defaults to a FULL locked upright position when contents reach the maximum fill capacity, eliminating overfilling and associated risks.
No-Leak Seal
Precisely engineered lid seal eliminates leakage of blood or body fluids during transport.
Tamper-Proof
Permanent side locks prevent collector from being reopened when full. Eliminates unauthorised access to contents.
86.6% reduction in container-associated sharps injuries
This Before-After intervention study involved 8 acute care hospitals ranging in size from 150 to 850 beds in Australia, New Zealand and Scotland.
The study was carried out to determine the effect on needlestick injuries (NSIs) following the introduction of Sharpsmart’s reusable sharps containers.
When compared to 10 alternate sharps container brands, the Sharpsmart system reduced total NSIs by 32.6%, container-associated NSIs by 86.6%, and non-container-related NSIs by 25.7%.
NSIs reduced by over 85% after switching sharps containers
Whiston Hospital is one of two sites providing a full range of acute healthcare services under the Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, caring for the needs of over 600,000 people.
Internal audits in 2016 uncovered 80 breaches in the hospital’s disposal of clinical waste, meaning non-compliance with legislative requirements. Separate infection prevention audits also uncovered numerous issues with closing down and signing off the existing single-use sharps containers being used.
Since the installation of Sharpsmart reusables at Whiston Hospital, sharps waste spillage is no longer a problem and the risk of needlestick injury has been reduced by over 85%.
BS EN ISO 23907-2:2019 – the ultimate compliance standard for reusable sharps containers.
BS EN ISO 23907-2:2019 is the compliance standard that outlines the global requirements for the design, testing and performance of reusable sharps containers.
Compliance with ISO 23907-2 confirms the superior design quality and lifecycle performance of reusable sharps containers by incorporating requirements above and beyond those of single-use containers, which are incinerated after one fill.
Download our free ISO 23907:2 study guide if you’d like to see the safety standards for sharps containers in more detail.
Safety in Every Stream
From sharps and pharmaceuticals to cytotoxic and infectious waste, every Sharpsmart container has been designed with clinical intentionality to protect frontline healthcare workers and patients. Study after study, our safety-engineered healthcare waste containers have been proven to significantly reduce needlestick injuries, occupational handling and exposure risks – while setting the standards for compliance.
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Sharpsmart: Impact on Sharps Injuries
A before/after intervention study of 8 acute care hospitals ranging in size in Australia, New Zealand and Scotland.
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Reusable Sharps Containers: Impact on Infection Risk
This study examined literature and guidelines to determine the microbiological risk of using reusable clinical waste containers.
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NSIs Reduced by Over 85% After Switching Sharps Containers
A simple switch to reusable sharps containers helped Whiston Hospital reduce NSIs by over 85%.
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61% Healthcare Waste Diversion from Carbon-Intensive Treatment
Discover how East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust diverted 61% of their healthcare waste from carbon-intensive treatment.
Safer Handling from Point of Care to the Compound
Safety is built into how waste moves through a hospital. Sharpsmart helps clinical and facilities teams follow safer handling behaviours from the patient bedside to the waste compound, reducing risk at every touchpoint.
Our accessories support secure, consistent mounting and correct placement of sharps and clinical waste containers. Purpose-built transporters, trolleys and carts reduce heavy lifting and double-stacking, they improve manoeuvrability in tight corridors, and create a more stable, ergonomic way to move waste across the facility. The result is fewer handling risks, smoother workflows and a safer back-of-house environment.
We Put Safety First
Safety is the foundation of Sharpsmart’s operations. From labour planning and logistics to container innovation and ergonomic handling, we design every step to reduce risk and protect the people who deliver care.
That safety culture continues through education, audits, and ongoing performance support. We help hospitals embed safer habits associated with waste disposal and handling, strengthen compliance, and drive measurable change across the life of the partnership.