Needle guard

A guard for a needle cannula comprising:

• a hub means for attachment to a needle;
• a shield which can be attached to the hub means and which is adapted to lie adjacent the needle;
• a lip which projects outwardly from the shield so as to cover the tip of the needle;
• and
• an enclosure means for the tip of the needle located adjacent the lip, the hub means and the shield each comprise complementary attachment means whereby the shield can be attached to the hub means in a first relative position wherein the needle can be used and the shield is capable of flexing away from the needle to uncover the tip as the lip is pressed against the body of a patient and the needle initially penetrates the body and of returning automatically back towards the needle as the needle is withdrawn from the patient so that the lip again covers the tip, and whereby by pulling the shield towards the hub means in a direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the needle, the shield is attached to the hub means in a second relative position thereto wherein the tip of the needle is enclosed by the enclosure means and thereby locks the shield in position with respect to the needle so that the shield cannot be flexed away from the needle to uncover the tip after use, said complementary attachment means comprise snap-fit fasteners said snap-fit fasteners comprise at least one projection and two longitudinally adjacent complementarily shaped grooves into which the projection can fit, a location of the projection in a first of the grooves providing attachment of the shield to the hub means in the first relative position, and the pulling of the shield towards the hub means in a direction substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the needle disengaging the projection from the first groove and engaging it in the second groove to provide attachment of the shield to the hub means in the second relative position, the second groove being of greater depth than the first groove so that after engagement the projection cannot be disengaged therefrom manually.