In July 2023 we gave £4,750 to buy an AccuVein Scanner for the Jenny Lind Children’s Hospital. We have now purchased three of these scanners, which work to reduce the time and distress of finding a vein to place an intravenous (IV) cannula.
The AccuVein device is a small handheld scanner that projects an image onto the patient’s skin, showing where their veins are. This means that staff are able to see which veins are most suitable to place a needle, and helps them find the right spot first time. Having an IV placed can be painful and tough for many patients, but for children it’s especially important to do everything we can to make the procedure is as quick and easy as possible, without multiple attempts to find a vein. Thanks to your support, the AccuVein scanners are helping patients and staff at the Jenny Lind.
“The paediatric team are delighted with the AccuVein scanner, as not only does it reduce distress to children requiring venepuncture, it also supports the correct placement of cannulas within the in one attempt, meaning less pain and upset to the child and their family, but also meaning less cannulations attempts. This prevents children from becoming needle phobic, especially for those children who require frequent blood tests, and also enables our clinical teams to provide more time-efficient care.”
Teresa Miles, Deputy Divisional Nursing Director, Women and Children’s Division
Photo (left to right): Leanne Stafford, Carly Ryder and Gemma Dunnell. Carly is scanning Leanne’s hand to demonstrate how it works.