A needle protective housing used to cover a contaminated needle after use is configured to have at least one cam positioned below the lip of the sheath attached to the base of the needle device for covering the needle prior to use. When the sheath is attached to the base of the needle device, the needle protective housing is positioned in proximity to the sheath. To remove the sheath, a user would pivotally move the needle protective housing in a direction away from the sheath so that the cam coacts against the lip of the sheath in an upward direction as the needle protective housing is pivoted downwards relative to the needle device. The cam may be an integral extension of the needle protective housing, or it may be a clip retrofittable to the needle protective housing.
