Our aim is to ensure that your child approaches their blood tests with confidence. Babies and young children can be a little more difficult to take blood off due to their smaller sized veins. To try and make this an easier experience for parents, we have two senior staff assisting on the collection and we can use either a “magic spray” (Ethylene chloride spray) or a “magic cream” (EMLA Cream) to numb the phlebotomy site. The EMLA cream can take an hour to work depending on the individual, so you may need to allow more time for the sample to be collected.
Both Canterbury Health Laboratories and Canterbury Southern Community Laboratories run dedicated clinics for children requiring blood tests. Clinic times, locations and appointment requirements can be found in the tables below:
CHL offers paediatric blood collections at the Christchurch Hospital Outpatients Blood Test Centre, located on the ground floor of the Outpatients building. Appointments are required for all presentations and can be made by calling 03 378 6647.
| Weekday | Clinic Times |
|---|---|
| Monday | 10:00 – 10:30 or 13:00 – 14:30 |
| Tuesday | 10:00 – 10:30 or 13:00 – 14:30 |
| Wednesday | 10:00 – 10:30 or 13:00 – 14:30 |
| Thursday | 10:00 – 10:30 or 13:00 – 14:30 |
| Friday | 10:00 – 10:30 or 13:00 – 14:30 |
| Saturday | N/A |
| Sunday | N/A |
| Collection Centre | Monday – Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Appointment Required? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashburton | 08:30 – 17:15 | N/A | N/A | No |
| Barrington | 07:30 – 11:30 & 14:00 – 15:30 | 08:00 – 11:00 | N/A | No |
| Hornby | 07:30 – 11:30 & 14:00 – 15:30 | N/A | N/A | No |
| Linwood | 07:30 – 11:30 & 14:00 – 15:30 | 08:00 – 11:00 | N/A | No |
| Northfield | 07:00 – 16:00 | 08:00 – 11:00 | N/A | No |
| Riccarton | 07:30 – 11:30 & 14:00 – 15:30 | 08:00 – 11:00 | N/A | No |
| Rangiora | 08:00 – 11:30 & 14:00 – 15:30 | N/A | N/A | No |
| St George’s Hospital | 07:00 – 15:00 | N/A | N/A | No |