Please ensure that you have completed the sharps safety page in conjunction with this page, click to complete here  

Read the illustrated guides to venepuncture on ClinicalSkills.net. 

You will need to be logged into ClinicalSkills.net to use these pages: Go to https://shu.app.clinicalskills.net, enter your user name and password. You must have set up your account to do this. For further information on how to login to your ClinicalSkills.net account please click here: How to Login to ClinicalSkills.net 

Once logged in to your account, click on Guides in the main Dashboard area and search for the following guides:

• Venepuncture using a needle and holder 

• Venepuncture using a winged infusion device 

Order of Draw

The order of draw should be observed when taking blood. The order of draw refers to the specific order in which the blood bottles should be attached when more than one blood sample is being taken.  This avoids cross contamination between the additives inside the bottles. Colour coding and tube additives may vary but the simplified order recommended by WHO for vacuum blood bottles is shown in the table below:  

Here are two  videos showing examples of undertaking venepuncture. The first video on the left is more detailed and you may find this more useful if you'd like a more in depth overview of the procedure, particularly if you are new to the skill. The first video also shows how to undertake venepuncture using both a butterfly or 'winged' device, as well as using a needle and holder. As the second video is marked as age restricted you will need to click on the link to watch this directly on Youtube.

Click on the button below to navigate to the 'Assessments' area of ClinicalSkills.net. Please make sure you're logged into ClinicalSkills.net already, otherwise you may not be able to open and take the test. Once you have reached the 'Assessments' area, select 'Local Assessments' and then click on the test called 'Venepuncture' to begin. You will need to score 80% or more to pass. Make sure you've read the ClinicalSkills.net procedures thoroughly before taking the test as many of the answers will be found within there! 

From the ClinicalSkills.net 'Guides' area, once you have opened the guide you wish to find a checklist for, you can also easily access the corresponding step-by-step checklist for that procedure by following these instructions:

• Open the correct guide that you want to find the checklist for.

• Click the option 'Get the Guide Checklist' from the tabs at the top of the page.

• This will open the checklist, allowing you to either complete this digitally online whilst logged into clinicalskills.net, or alternatively to print out and complete this as a hard copy.

Royal Marsden Manual of Clinical Procedures (9th Edition): Venepuncture - Pages 382-393 & 402-407

ProQuest Ebook Central - Reader 

Geeky Medics: Blood bottle guide.

www.geekymedics.com/blood-bottles-guide/