BEING scared of needles is not an option for the thousands of North-East health workers who use "sharps" every day of their lives.

But there is growing concern at the potentially lethal risks that nurses, doctors and technicians are taking day in and day out.

Just one mistake could lead to infection with a potentially fatal disease such as HIV, Hepatitis B and C and at least 20 other potential killer diseases.

Nurses have already died as a result of needle injuries in the UK.

And as people in Darlington, Bishop Auckland and Teesside have discovered in recent weeks the problem of discarded syringes littering parks and streets mean that everyone is a potential victim.

Action has been taken in the United States where labour unions forced hospitals to use safer needles by going to the courts.

Now 15 American states have brought in legislation requiring the use of safety needles and healthcare facilities, with similar rulings in the pipeline in another 13 states. Despite the stampede across the Atlantic there is no sign of movement on this issue in the UK.

A recent survey of 2,600 nurses revealed that 1,600 of them had suffered a needlestick injury during their career - but only 348 reported the matter.

Research in Europe shows that out of 75 cases of health care workers becoming infected with HIV, some 22 were directly related to needlestick incidents.

The health union Unison is currently campaigning to reduce the risk of accidental needlestick injuries.

If safer needles were used in NHS hospitals the union calculates that it would reduce the number of injuries - currently running at around 100,000 a year - by 90 per cent.

While Department of Health officials have welcomed the Unison campaign there is so far no commitment to introduce safer needles in the Health Service.

Later this month Unison officials will meet with David Robinson, president of Specialized Health Products International Inc, to discuss the increasing range of safe needles available on the market.

Safer needles can't come quick enough for North-East blood transfusion technician Doug Harkness.

Father-of-four Doug, 38, who has spent the last ten years taking blood from donors throughout the region, uses needles every single working day.

So far he has been relatively lucky but he knows that could all change in an instant.

"I've had two needlestick injuries but you never know when they are going to happen. All it takes is for a patient to move unexpectedly and you end up jabbing yourself," says Doug, who lives in Hebburn, South Tyneside.

He is not alone in his busy unit.

"Since August last year we have had 24 needle injuries," he says, grimly.

Internationally there have been estimates by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that more than 21 million people contract a disease from unsafe needle practices every year.

This, the WHO calculates, causes more than a million deaths every year.

"This whole issue is a massive problem for health workers. People always think about HIV but there are lots of other blood-born diseases you could get from being stuck with a contaminated needle," he says.

Because it has happened to him more than once Doug knows the procedures which follow a needle injury.

"You have to wash the affected area as best you can and then a sample of your blood is taken so that tests can be carried out."

A sample of the donors blood is also put to one side for possible future analysis, even though blood donors are already screened for many diseases.

Waiting for the results normally only takes up to 36 hours - but the waiting is an agonising one.

"If there is a problem we should know within 36 hours. You won't be surprised when I tell you it can be pretty stressful waiting for the results," he says.

The kind of sophisticated devices now common in American hospitals are the subject of rumour in the UK.

"I have heard of needles which blunt themselves after use," says Doug.

But very few British health workers will have come across anything other than ordinary needles.

With the switch to safer needles in the US accelerating the supplies of such needles is beginning to exceed demand.

David Robinson, president of SHPI, predicts that if the UK does not follow the American example it could face legal action from health trade unions.

"If the NHS does not back safety devices then the labour unions will say we are going to change the law. That is what happened in the United States," he says.

He is in the UK to promote safer needles and to meet with Unison officials to see if he can help with the campaign.

Because different needles are needed for different purposes the company has developed 16 solutions to a range of medical settings.

In all cases economy is an important factor.

"Automatic retractable syringes are not always the best solution and they are quite expensive," says Mr Robinson.

Some of the cheaper safety needles developed by SHPI and produced under licence by a number of companies have a manually operated sheath.

And the company is currently working on a new safety needle which doctors will be able to use again and again.

However, governments often point to the cost of safety but Mr Robinson says it is a false economy.

"If someone gets a needlestick injury in the US it costs $2,200 dollars to do all the testing," he says.

Hospitals in the US that have adopted safer needle policies have also had an advantage in recruiting staff, the president adds.

A spokesman for the Department of Health said: "We share concerns about needle stick injuries in the NHS and the potential ill effects.

"There is a lack of information about the number of NHS injuries and how they occur and the consequences.

"With a large amount of advice and good practice it is difficult to see why these accidents keep occurring.

"More needs to be done. We have welcomed recent campaigns by Unison and RCN. Safer needle technology is likely to have a role to play in the future."

But the Health Service Executive and Medical Device Agency have so far identified very few safer needles that can be supplied under the Medical Device Agency.

While agreeing he is in business to sell safety needles, Mr Robinson also says his work has the very satisfying spin-off of reducing the spread of dangerous disease. "I have been in a number of different businesses but in this line of work I can say we are going to save lives," he says.

Clare Williams, spokeswoman for Unison's Northern Region Healthcare Group, says the union wants: safer needle legislation; the promotion of safer needles by the Department of Health and better training programmes for staff in safe injection techniques, infection control and safe disposal of clinical waste.