BFPA joins forces with the British Society for Surgery to the Hand in raising awareness of fluid injection injuries amongst medical professionals
27 Sep 2021
For some years BFPA has been trying to engage with the medical profession with a view to raising awareness of fluid injection injuries. The motives for this are born of the fact that all too often, an engineer or technician with what appears to be a small pin prick injury, often to the hand, is turned away with minimal treatment by ill-informed accident and emergency hospital staff unaware of the seriousness of these catastrophic injuries. Despite efforts to engage with medical profession journals in recent years, we have been unable to spark any interest from these important medical stakeholders.
Via contacts made through SHEP, (the Safety and Health Engineering Partnership), BFPA has managed to attract the attention of the British Society for Surgery to the Hand (BSSH). The BSSH have a particular interest in the migration of foreign fluids through the tissue of the hand (most fluid injection injuries are incurred through the hand).
Following a very successful meeting with two of the relevant hand surgeons, BFPA has agreed to undertake a joint presentation at the forthcoming BSSH conference on the 16th and 17th of December at the Exeter NHS Trust. The audience will primarily be doctors and professional medics. Following the anticipated success of this event the BSSH has committed to help BFPA raise awareness of fluid injection injuries throughout the wider medical community.
This is a long sought after, and excellent opportunity for BFPA members and represents a significant contribution to the awareness campaign relating to these all too often neglected injuries.
Members interested in learning more about this important subject should contact Karen Gordon-Brander at the BFPA on karen@bfpa.co.uk. Interested parties may also wish to secure a copy of the recently updated BFPA Guide “The Facts” on Fluid Injection Injuries.