A union representing health care workers is demanding more protection from accidental needle pokes.

The Service Employees International Union says there are more than 2,000 health care injuries related to needle pokes every year in Saskatchewan.

Up to nine of those people accidentally poked or cut will get a fatal infection, such as HIV or hepatitis C.

Roslyn Colwell, the chair of the union's occupational health and safety committee, says even though there are safe ways to handle needles, workers are still getting poked.

"Maybe because it's a trauma, and there's a million things going on, and I'm trying to give three or four medications," Colwell says, blaming the injuries on a frantic pace and human error.

She says hospitals could buy needles that retract into safety containers as soon as they are used. The union wants the government to make those devices mandatory.