Nurse led venesection: a quality improvement project

Venesection is a widely practised procedure, involving the removal of a unit of blood in order to treat haemochromatosis and polycythaemia. It is still well regarded due to a lack of better alternatives and a small side effect profile. At Barnet General Hospital, venesection has recently been a physician led service, unlike its neighbouring hospital at Chase Farm Hospital, which has a well run nurse led service. The current service being run at Barnet Hospital was beset with problems, including delays in service provision and discharge, using junior doctors who may not be comfortable with or have knowledge of pre and post procedure checks. Furthermore, the medical day treatment unit is comprised of highly skilled nurses. 100% of nursing staff felt comfortable gaining venous access, but none had any formal training. Following a practical tutorial, followed by formal teaching, the nurses now run the venesection service. This has been done at no cost to the hospital, has sped up discharges and this has subsequently led to the capacity of the unit to venesect patients to increase by 100%.