The CECOVA believed required specific legislation on materials of biosafety in the Valencian Community.

valencia, November of 2011- the Council of nursing of the Comunitat Valenciana (CECOVA) has requested, through an interview with the regional secretariat of health, the adoption of specific rules of regional biosafety level and material security for health professionals in the region of Valencia. The official request to the Ministry of health was conducted in the framework of a working meeting of the President of the CECOVA, José Antonio Avila Olivares, and regional Secretary of health, Nela García Reboll, held last October 27, in which he remarked that of nursing considers it necessary to be drawn up as soon as possible a legal regulations at autonomous community level for the replacement of materials cortopunzantes by elements of biosecurity to speed up the transposition of the European directive on bio-security and accelerate the gradual elimination of unsafe devices ”.

José Antonio Avila explained that the request for the CECOVA is part of the need to adapt as quickly as possible regional legislation into line with the directive of the European Union 32/2010/EU of the Council of 10 May 2010, which applied the agreement framework for the prevention of injuries caused by sharp and sharp instruments in the hospital and healthcare sector concluded by HOSPEEM and EPSUIt regulates the substitution of hazardous materials cortopunzantes materials of bio-safety and it must be implemented compulsorily in all EU Member States by May 11, 2013.

The President of the CECOVA said that the introduction of these health materials that protect the health professional of punctures, cuts and splashing with blood and other bodily fluids potentially contaminated, would represent a minimum reduction of 80 per cent of accidental occupational exposures and, therefore, a significant reduction in the cost of treatment and follow-up of these accidents. In addition, the savings in other non-quantifiable costs for the worker and the system (cost of casualties, psychological cost, compensation, legal expenses, etc.)

More than 50% are suffered by nurses

Thus, CECOVA recalled that accidents of this kind in the working environment remains a major scourge for health workers already more than 13 of each health 100 suffer each year accidental puncture, and of these, more than 50% are suffered by nurses. In Spain, 10 percent of the accidental puncture of nurses occurs when they are in response to a patient carrier of hepatitis C; 5 percent when they attend a patient carrier of the virus of human immunodeficiency (HIV); and 2 per cent with patients carriers of hepatitis B.

More frequent and serious diseases which can suffer an accidental puncture are hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV, and, in this sense, must take into account the significant increase in the number of carriers of hepatitis C in the general population and HIV in the younger population. In this sense, it should be noted that these diseases are transmitted by blood contact, but also through the unprotected sex, that and there is a relaxation in the society about the risk of acquiring HIV in sexual relations, so many young people perform their sexual activities without protection for lack of perceived risk and adequate information.

Finally, be noted that a total of five autonomous regions (Madrid, Castile – La Mancha, Balearic Islands, Galicia and Navarra) have already legislated on this issue, so these safe sanitary materials have already been implanted in health centres and, therefore, the risk that run their health care professionals has declined very significantly.

Therefore, the CECOVA hopes to soon the Ministry of health also appear sensitive to this problem that affects all health professionals, and particularly the collective nurse and, consequently, take appropriate measures and submit a proposal for legislation so that we can be one of the communities that have this protection for healthcare workers, and as a result, decreases the risk and improve the safety and health of these workers ”.