Percutaneous exposure or ‘sharps injury’ via skin breakage with a needle or sharp object is a well-known occupational risk for healthcare workers (HCW) (Ghauri et al., 2011). Obtaining a sharps injury exposes the HCW to blood-borne viral (BBV) infections, including HIV and hepatitis (Corrao, Mazzotta, laTorre, & DeGiusti, 2012; Hosoglu, Akalin, Sunbul, Otkun, & Ozturk, 2011). The operating room (OR) has continually been identified as the second most common work environment for staff to encounter a sharps injury behind inpatient wards (Cutter & Jordan, 2012; Health Protection Agency Centre for Infections, 2008; Jagger, Berguer, Phillips, Parker, & Gomaa, 2011). When handling scalpels theatre staff should be utalising sharps injury prevention
