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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Queson City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No. 8495

Introduced by HON. LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F, VILLAFUERTE, JR.

AN ACT
TO REQUIRE THE SECRETARIES OF HEALTH AND LABOR TO
ISSUE REGULATIONS TO ELIMINATE OR MINIMIZE THE SIGNIFICANT RISK
OF NEEDLESTICK INJURY TO HEALTH CARE WORKERS.

The Constitution, Article II, provides:

Section 15. The State shall protect and promote the right of health of the
people and instill health consciousness among them.

The Constitution, Article II further provides:

Section 18. The State affirms labor as a primary social economic force. It
shall protect the rights of workers and promote their welfare.

Health workers are constantly exposed to the risk of acquiring deadly disease such as
hepatitis and the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) caused by bloodborne
pathogens. These diseases can be transmitted to health care workers who are exposed
to sharp related injuries when caring for patients.

Considering the important role of health workers in keeping our citizens healthy, the

legislature needs to pass measures that will protect them from occupational health risks
that will endanger their lives.

LUIS RA) ID “ ALY VILLAFUERTE, JR.


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No. 8495

introduced by HON. LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR.

AN ACT
TO REQUIRE THE SECRETARIES OF HEALTH AND LABOR TO.
ISSUE REGULATIONS TO ELIMINATE OR MINIMIZE THE SIGNIFICANT RISK
OF NEEDLESTICK INJURY TO HEALTH CARE WORKERS

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be cited as the “Health Care Worker Needlestick
Prevention Act.”

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. — It is the policy of the State to:

(A) Protect and promote the right of health of the people and instill health consciousness
among them; and

(B) Protect the rights of workers and promote their welfare.

Harmonizing these two p has the role of protecting the health of
the people, particularly the workers, in specific job-related risks

SECTION 3. Definitions. - For purposes of this Act, the term:

(A) “Bloodborne pathogens” means pathogenic microorganisms that are present in
human blood and can cause disease in humans. These pathogens include hepatitis B
virus, hepatitis C virus, and human immunodeficiency virus;

(B) “Contaminated” means the presence of the reasonably anticipated presence of blood
or other potentially infectious materials on an item or surface;


(C) ‘Direct care health care worker’ means an employee responsible for direct patient
care with potential occupational exposure to sharps related injuries;

(D) “Employer” means each employer having an employee with occupational exposure
to human blood or other material potentially containing bloodborne pathogens;

(E) “Engineered sharps injury protection” means —
(1) A physical attribute built into a needle device used for withdrawing body fluids,
accessing a vein or artery, or administering medications or other fluids that
effectively reduces the risk of exposure incident by a mechanism such as a barrier
creation. Blunting, encapsulation, withdrawal, retraction, destruction, or other
ef © mechanisms; or
(2) A physical attribute built into any type of needle device, or into a non-needle
sharp, which effectively reduces the risk of an exposure incident;

(F) "Needleless system” means a device that does not use needles for —
(1) The withdrawal of body fluids after initial venous or arterial access is established;
(2) The administration of medication or fluids; and
(3) Any other procedure involving the potential for an exposure incident;

(G) “Sharp” means any objects used or encountered in a health care setting that can be
reasonably anticipated to penetrate the skin or any other part of the body, and to result in
an exposure incident, including, but not limited to, needle devices, scalpel, lancets,
broken gals, broken capillary tubes, exposed ends of dental wires and dental knives,
drills and burs;

(H) “Sharps injury” means any injury caused by a sharp, including cuts, abrasions, or
neediesticks; and

(I) “Sharps injury log” means a written or electronic record satisfying the requirements of
Section 4.

SECTION 4, Requirements, —

(A) Bloodbome Pathogens Standard. — Except as provided in paragraph (B) the
Secretary of Health and the Secretary of Labor, shall prescribe the bloodborne
pathogens standard to require that:
(1) Employers utilize needleless systems and sharps with engineered sharps injury
protections in their work sites to prevent the spread of bloodborne pathogens; and
(2) To assist employers in meeting the above requirement, non-managerial direct
health care workers of employers participate in the identification and evaluation of
needleless systems and sharps with engineered sharps injury protections.

{B) Exception. - The bloodbome patho ,
shall apply to any employer, except where the employer demonstrates, to the Secretary's
satisfaction, that —



(1) There are circumstances in the employer's work facility in which the needleless
systems and sharps with engineered sharps injury protections do not promote
employee safety, interfere with patient safety, or interfere with the success of a
medical procedure; or

(2) The needleless systems and sharps with engineered sharps injury protections
Tequired are not comm

(C) Exposure Plan Control. - The employer shall include in their exposure plan control
an effective procedure for identifying and selecting existing needleless systems and
sharps injury protecting and other methods of preventing bloodborne pathogens
exposure.

(D) Sharps Injury Log. — The employer shall maintain a separate contaminated sharps
injury log containing the following information, to the extent such information is known to
the employer, with regard to each exposure incident:
(1) The date and time of the exposure incident;
(2) The type and brand of sharp involved in the exposure incident;
(3) The description of the exposure incident which shall include —
(a) The job classification of the exposed employee;
(b) The department or work area where the exposure incident occurred;
(c) The procedure that the exposed employee was performing at the time of
the incident;
(4) How the incident occurred;
(e) The body part involved in the exposure incident;
(f) Ifthe sharp had engineered sharp injury protections, whether the protective
Mechanism was activated, and whether the injury occurred before the
protective mechanism was activated, during the activation of the mechanism, or
after activation of the mechanism, if applicable; and whether the employee
received training on how to use the device before use, and a brief description of
the training.
(q) If the sharp had no engineered sharps injury protections, the injured
employee's opinion as to whether and how such a mechanism could have
prevented the injury, as well as basis for the opinion; and
(h) The employee's opinion about whether any other engineering,
administrative, or work practice control could have prevented the injury as well
as the basis for the opinion.

(E) Training. — A requirement that all direct care health care workers st
adequate training on the use of all needleless systems and sharps with engineered
sharps injury protections which they may be required to use.

SECTION 5. Clearing House on Safer Needle Technology. —
(A) In General. - The Department of Health and the Department of Labor and

Employment shall establish and maintain a national database on existing needleless
systems and sharps with engineered sharps injury protections.


(8) Evaluation Criteria. — The Secretary of Health and the Secretary of Labor and
Employment shall develop a set of evaluation criteria for use by employers, employees,
and other persons when they are evaluating and selecting needleless systems and
sharps with engineered sharps injury protections.

(C) Training, - The Secretary of Health and the Secretary of Labor and Employment shall
develop a model training curriculum to train employers, employees, and other persons
on the process of evaluating needleless systems and sharps with engineered sharps
injury protection and shall, to the extent feasible, provide technical assistance to persons
who request such assistance.

(D) Monitoring. — The Secretary of Health and the Secretary of Labor and Employment
shall establish a national system to collect comprehensive data on needlestick injuries to
health care workers, including data mechanisms to analyze and evaluate prevention
interventions in relation to needlestick injury occurrence. In carrying out its duties under
this paragraph, the Department of Health and the Department of Labor and Employment
shall have access to information recorded by employers on the sharps injury log as
required by Section 4.

SECTION 6. Appropriation. — To carry out the provisions of this Act, such amount as may
be necessary is hereby authorized to be appropriated from the National Treasury.
Thereafter, the amount necessary for the continuous operation of the Act shall be
included in the annual appropriation of the Department of Health and the Department of
Labor and Employment.

SECTION 7. Separability Clause. — If any provision or part hereof, is held invalid or
unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or provision not otherwise affected shall
remain valid and subsisting.

SECTION 8. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive
order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule or regulation contrary to or
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act is hereby repealed, modified or amended
accordingly.

SECTION 9. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,