The new regulation was announced in Aug. 2007 and will come into force in the hospital sector in Sept. 2008. Attached is a copy of the regulation and also copies of letters (Oct.11/07) to Premier McGuinty, Labour minister Steve Peters and Health Minister George Smitherman from the Alliance for Sharps Safety. OPSEU is a member of the Alliance for Sharps Safety along with ONA and SEIU. OPSEU and allies say that although the new regulation is helpful, much more needs to be done, especially in workplaces not covered by the regulation.

On Oct. 11, the alliance wrote to the provincial government to commend the new regulation and make a request for three amendments: to broaden the regulation to cover more devices than simply hollow-bore needles; to ensure that employer will replace all medical sharps with safety engineered sharps; and, to indicate within the regulation when it will be applied to healthcare workplaces other than hospitals.

On Oct. 31, the alliance wrote again to the government to ensure that workers in all health care settings were covered under the regulations at the same time.