Verification of Capillary Blood Samples for use in Routine Blood Tests
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Verification of Utilising Capillary Blood in Routine and Annual Blood Tests to Aid Patient Experience Against Routine Venepuncture and Required Desensitisation
IRAS ID
346628
Contact name
Mark Bumstead
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Research and Development
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 4 months, 30 days
Research summary
Health care is a right that the NHS protects. Access to these services should be made available to all and shouldn’t be affected by age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, geography, or disability. Many patients struggle mentally and physically with the act of giving blood. This project aims to evaluate a different method of giving blood for patients who are hard to bleed or have special requirements. There has been significant work achieved towards this goal, including guidelines specific to blood tests for those with learning difficulties, and previous research into verifying the use of capillary blood for specific tests. However, local service users at HHFT have identified the lack of a specialised service for capillary blood testing to provide reasonable adjustments for needle-phobic patients. This project aims to address the needs of local service users and build upon the foundations mentioned by verifying the use of capillary blood for routine biochemistry tests, including thyroid functional tests, kidney functional tests, liver functional tests and bone profiles. Once verified, a patient pathway will be designed to provide a standard process for collecting patient samples, transporting them, recording their arrival in laboratories, and their analysis. Healthy participants recruited from NHS staff will have blood taken from both their veins and capillaries for comparison; required data for proving the two bloods are comparable will be collected and presented appropriately. If successful, patients throughout the community who are incapable of giving blood through usual means; patients who experience significant discomfort with needles, and patients who have learning disabilities can receive a simple, safe, comfortable alternative and still receive the same level of excellent care any other patient could expect to receive.
REC name
North East - Tyne & Wear South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/NE/0056
Date of REC Opinion
23 May 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion