Tamper evident vacuum tube holder assembly and needle hub assembly therefor

A one piece molded vacuum tube holder is fitted with a one piece molded needle hub assembly. A needle protection device is further rotatably mounted to the neck of the one piece vacuum tube holder. One portion of a locking mechanism is provided at the neck of the one piece vacuum tube holder and a second portion of the locking mechanism is provided at the needle hub of the needle hub assembly, so that when the needle hub assembly is press fit to the vacuum tube holder, the two portions of the locking mechanism will coact to fixedly retain the needle hub assembly within the vacuum tube holder. The one piece vacuum tube holder is configured to have an elongate needle cover integrally extending from its neck. A tamper evident notched joint is provided at the junction where the needle cover is connected to the neck. When used, a user applies a predetermined torque to the needle cover, relative to the rest of the vacuum tube holder, to separate the needle cover from the neck of the holder to thereby expose the one end of the double-ended needle extending from the needle hub. After use, the contaminated needle is covered by the needle safety housing, with integral hooks in the housing fixedly grasping the contaminated needle to prevent it from being further exposed. The opening of the vacuum tube holder through which a conventional vacuum tube is inserted may be sealed for sterilization and transport of the device.