Paediatric phlebotomy
Taking blood from children: communication, positioning, equipment and working with parents.
Why children are different
Children have smaller veins, less subcutaneous tissue to guide you, and a stronger emotional response to needles. Only take blood from children if you have been trained and assessed to do so.
Communication
Explain what will happen in words suited to the child’s age, and be honest about whether it will hurt. Children who are misled once find the next test harder.
Distraction and positioning
Active distraction, such as bubbles, a video or a story, helps. Younger children are often held securely on a parent or carer’s lap.
Equipment and sites
Butterfly sets give more control on small veins. Use the smallest tubes that meet the laboratory’s minimum volume. Where a test is planned, a topical anaesthetic applied in advance can reduce pain, following local policy and the product instructions.
General information only. It is not accredited CPD and does not replace your training, your employer's procedures or the receiving laboratory's requirements.
Related articles
CPD for phlebotomists
What continuing professional development means for phlebotomists in the UK, and how to keep a record of it.
Difficult veins
Approaches for patients whose veins are hard to find, feel or access.
Taking blood from older patients
Adapting technique for fragile veins, thin skin and patients taking anticoagulants.
Butterfly needles
When a winged blood collection set helps, and how to use one well.
Lola Dispatch is invitation-only
Lola Dispatch offers mobile blood draw jobs to approved phlebotomists. We add phlebotomists by invitation.
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