Table of Contents
REQUIREMENTS #
- A tray with the following:
- Sterile syringes and needles
- Antimicrobial solution
- Appropriate specimen bottle
- Dry cotton wool swabs in a gallipot
- Disposable gloves
- Tourniquet
- Adhesive strip
- Receiver for used items
- Appropriate laboratory or specimen form
- Appropriate PPE’s e.g. apron
- Sharps container
STEPS #
- Establish rapport (Refer to steps)
- Explain procedure to the patient (Refer to steps)
- Perform hand hygiene
- Take tray and send to the bedside
- Provide privacy
- Protect the bed with a mackintosh and a dressing towel
- Assist patient into a desirable position
- Assist the doctor or laboratory technician to take the sample
- Dispose off used items and decontaminate the tray
- Ensure all needles are disposed off in the sharps container
- Ensure labelled specimen with signed laboratory forms are sent to the laboratory
- If the nurse is taking the blood specimen then the following steps should be followed after step 7
- Choose a site preferably on the forearm
- Apply tourniquet to locate a prominent vein
- Clean the site with antimicrobial solution
- Insert the needle gently with syringe attached into the vein at an angle of 45
- Withdraw the required amount of blood
- Release the tourniquet
- Remove the needle gently from the vein, apply a dry swab to the area immediately and hold it in place with an adhesive strip
- Disconnect needle from syringe, poor blood into specimen bottle
- Ensure specimen container is well labelled
- Perform hand hygiene
