Oxford, England, April 19 – Owen Mumford Ltd has introduced a new venous blood collection portfolio under its popular Unistik brand. The new lineup builds on the company’s experience and legacy in capillary blood sampling to offer a selection of venous devices that deliver safety, comfort, and quality for healthcare professionals (HCPs) and patients.
The new Unistik blood collection range is launching with three devices. Unistik ShieldLock features a user-focused design that provides protection once the needle is removed from the vein, allowing HCPs to safely collect large volumes of blood with ease and minimal discomfort to patients. The device has flexible, textured wings for a secure grip throughout the blood draw, and a thumb-activated safety shield that covers and protects the needle after it’s withdrawn from the vein — helping reduce the risk of needlestick injury (NSI).
Unistik VacuFlip is developed for safe and simple venous blood collection procedures. The device includes an ergonomic safety guard that flips over the needle after removal from the arm to secure it and lower NSI risk. The safety guard features a textured surface to improve grip during manual activation and keep fingers safely away from the needle during collection.
Needlestick injuries can happen due to mishandling or not activating the safety shield on certain blood collection devices before disposal. While training and communication can help lower the risks, the economic cost to the healthcare industry from injury claims and treatment can be significant, made worse by the potential physical and mental impact on HCPs.
Also, both non-communicable disease rates and the need for disease identification are rising, and each year, over a billion patients worldwide have blood drawn with venous devices[1]. After thorough research into the venous blood collection market and reviewing current design challenges, Owen Mumford now offers a line of devices that are easy to use, comfortable for patients, and most importantly, reduce the risk of NSI.
“The new venous blood collection range is a first for Owen Mumford, building on our existing capillary sampling solutions to offer advanced safety options for HCPs and patients. The devices were designed to address pain points in current offerings, using modern technology to improve comfort and decrease the risk of NSI and exposure to blood samples after collection,” said Jesper Jonsson, Director, Medical Devices at Owen Mumford. “Disease identification is increasing, and safe, efficient blood collection is critical to accurate diagnosis and treatment. According to a recent study by the Royal College of Nursing, needlestick injuries have gone up 50 percent since 2008. Despite rules requiring 100 percent of staff to have access to safer sharps, just 45 percent said theirs was excellent, and 15 percent reported ‘nil to poor’ access[2]. With decades of experience in blood sampling and a strong focus on safety for patients and HCPs, Owen Mumford is introducing a range that blends advanced safety with accessibility, which we believe will transform the field.”
Owen Mumford’s safety blood collection devices can help prevent NSIs and lower the risk of failed blood draws. Each product works with other common blood collection devices so HCPs can switch with little disruption to their workflow. For more about the range, please visit www.owenmumford.com/en/medical-devices/venepuncture.
References
1. International prevalence of the use of peripheral intravenous catheters. Alexandrou E et al, (2015) J. Hosp. Med 10, pp. 530-533.
2. Blood and Body Fluid Exposures in 2020. Results from a survey of RCN members (2020) Royal College of Nursing, 20 Cavendish Square, London, W1G 0RN; RCN publication code: 009 687. www.rcn.org.uk/publications, pp. 24.