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Occupational Medicine 1997;47:5-10
© 1997 Society of Occupational Medicine

research-article

Implementation of Department of Health guidelines for hepatitis B vaccination: a regional audit of NHS occupational health policies and procedures

J. Harrison

Department of Environmental and Occupational Medicine, The Medical School, University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE2 4HH, UK

The objective of this study was to assess the implementation of the UK Health Departments' guidelines on protecting healthcare workers and patients from hepatitis B infection. The survey took place in February 1994 in the form of a postal questionnaire survey of occupational health departments. The study frame was the 18 district-based occupational health departments in the northern region of the NHS. The main outcome measures were compliance with the national guidelines on vaccination and the assessment of the hepatitis B status of employees performing exposure prone procedures. Compliance with the guidelines was variable. There were marked variations in the interpretation of serological data and there was a failure to establish the hepatitis B status of surgeons, in some cases. There is a need to provide training for occupational health practitioners about hepatitis B and to ensure that there is a uniform standard of practice within the NHS.

Keywords      Healthcare workers; hepatitis B; NHS; vaccination

Received       10 October 1995
Accepted       12 February 1996

Correspondence and reprint requests to: Dr J. Harrison, Department of Environmental and Occupational Medicine, The Medical School, University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE2 4HH, UK. Tel: (+44) 191 222 8748; Fax: (+44) 191 222 6442


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