Venepuncture and Cannulation

Venepuncture and cannulation are the most commonly performed invasive procedures in the UK, and are everyday procedures in health care practice. Venepuncture and Cannulation is a practical guide to these procedures. It assumes no prior knowledge and equips nurses and other health professionals with the clinical skills and knowledge they need in order to confidently perform venepuncture and cannulation in both hospital and community settings.

• Explores relevant anatomy and physiology
• Covers education and training, as well as legal and ethical issues
• Considers potential complications, and patient perspectives
• Provides guidance on the selection of the appropriate vein and equipment, and common blood tests

Foreword vi

Contributors viii

Introduction 1
Sarah Phillips and Mary Collins

1 Legal and Professional Issues 5
Lorraine Hyde

2 The Learning Experience 16
Sarah Phillips

3 Anatomy and Physiology 44
Mary Collins

4 Selection of Equipment 68
Mirjana Dojcinovska

5 Vein Selection 91
Barbara Witt

6 Infection Control and Risk Management 108
Sarah Hart

7 Procedures for Venepuncture and Cannulation 131
Annie de Verteuil

8 Complications 175
Wendy Morris

9 Introduction to Routine Blood Tests, Normal Values and Relevance to Clinical Practice 223
Andrea Blay

10 Patient’s Perspective 281
Lisa Dougherty

Webliography 297

Glossary 298

Index 304

"It provides a comprehensive overview of practice and underlying theory, integrated with details of patient experience." (Independent Nurse, 18 July 2011)

Sara Phillips is lead nurse, Practice Education at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Trust.

Mary Collins is Lecturer Practitioner at St Mary's NHS Trust.

Lisa Dougherty is Nurse Consultant, Intravenous Therapy, Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust.

Venepuncture and cannulation are the most commonly performed invasive procedures in the UK, and are everyday procedures in health care practice. Venepuncture and Cannulation is a practical guide to these procedures. It assumes no prior knowledge and equips nurses and other health professionals with the clinical skills and knowledge they need in order to confidently perform venepuncture and cannulation in both hospital and community settings.

Venepuncture and Cannulation explores relevant anatomy and physiology, education and training, and legal and ethical issues, before addressing the selection of the appropriate vein and equipment, risk management and infection control, procedures for venepuncture and cannulation, potential complications, patient perspectives and common blood tests.

• Practical evidence-based guide which assumes no prior knowledge
• Provides nurses with the skills and knowledge to perform procedures safely and effectively
• Includes clinical guidelines and real-life scenarios
• Provides an essential companion to Intravenous therapy