A safety shield is provided for a medical implement having a needle cannula (14). The safety shield includes a guard (40) that is slidably movable along the needle cannula (14) from a proximal position where the tip (18) of the needle cannula (14) is exposed to a distal position where the tip (18) of the needle cannula (14) is safety shielded. A hinged arm (54) connects the guard (40) to a hub of the needle cannula (14) or to the medical implement with which the needle cannula (14) is used. The hinged arm (54) can be collapsed upon itself, such that the guard (40) is adjacent the hub (20) of the needle cannula (14). Alternatively, the hinged arm (54) can be extended to cause the guard (40) to move distally along the needle cannula (14) and into a position for shielding the tip (18) of the needle cannula (4). A spring (90) may be provided to assist movement of the guard (40) toward the distal shielded position.