Hazardous Drugs (HD) Task Force Leader
For maximizing safety

The handling of Hazardous medical drugs in a cancer treatment unit requires a specific approach in order to avoid unnecessary risks for the healthcare staff, and more particularly for the nurses. The measures to be taken concern both the preparation and administration phases. For this reason, CytoPrevent board considers that it is justified to set up within each unit performing chemotherapies a multidisciplinary task force composed of health professionals, whose main objective is to identify and minimize the risks by exploring the best ways to address them.
This task force would be managed by a dedicated person: HDTFL (Hazardous Drugs Task Force Leader)

The HDTFL will constitute the task force with the main objective of being able to implement the conditions for a safe working environment, which means an “ALARA” (“As low as reasonably achievable”) risk of contamination by cytotoxics.

The HDTFL will ensure that its experts:
– implement as often as needed the list of hazardous drugs
– provide a solid and up to date data base of information on hazardous drugs
– assess all potential health and safety risks
– provide adequate initial staff training programs with regular updates
– review organizational measures (i.e. guidelines, protocols…)
– ensure the availability and use of PPE, CSTD and CSSA (Closed Safety System for Administration)
– develop quality and safety indicators for practices
– manage health surveillance of exposed workers
– investigate incidents and accidents

It is important to ensure that only appropriately trained and instructed employees perform work involving the handling of hazardous drugs.
It is only by setting up such a team, bringing a range of useful expertises, that it will be possible to focus on contamination issues and consider controlling the associated risks, which are inevitable because it is essential for the care of patients.

This is why the CytoPrevent Board strongly proposes that the creation of such a task force and the designation of a HDTFL be strongly recommended in the framework of the 4th amendment of the CMD Directive.

To read the original paper, click here.