An NHS trust's phlebotomy policy makes the phlebotomist responsible for managing a patient's anxiety and distress about the procedure

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Where this applies

One English mental-health NHS trust. The policy applies to all of the trust's staff involved in delivering phlebotomy, including temporary, locum, agency and visiting staff. It says the phlebotomist must ensure a trauma-informed approach is used to manage any anxiety or distress about the procedure, and tells staff to reassure the patient and see that they have suitable pain relief. Version 4 is dated 4 June 2025 and was ratified in July 2025. It is one employer's binding rule for its own staff, in a trust whose patients may be especially distressed by the procedure; it puts calming the patient on a named person but says how the care is given more than who may give it, and it says nothing about devices.

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What it does not yet show

It is one employer's policy about how the care is given, and it says nothing about devices.

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