25 Haematological problems

A variety of skills are required to care for children and young people with haematological conditions. You should think about the following learning opportunities when on relevant placements:

  • The child/young person will require holistic assessment to assess their condition, so use your communication skills to obtain a history and determine current needs.  You will need to monitor the following vital signs:
    • respiration rate
    • pulse
    • temperature
    • oxygen saturations
    • blood pressure
  • The child or young person may require oxygen, medications (for example, for pain relief) and blood products. These will all have to be administered safely following correct procedures and policies – make sure you know what these are even if you aren’t administering them yourself.
  • The child or young person will need to be encouraged to have a healthy diet and good fluid intake. Their fluid input and output may need to be closely monitored.
  • The child or young person will need advice and/or assistance to carry out good hygiene practices to reduce the risk to infection.
  • Blood tests will be required and intravenous access obtained, and nursing students may be required to assist with this.
  • If the patient has a bleed, or a reaction to a blood product, a knowledge of how and where to access the necessary emergency equipment, emergency medications, emergency call system in the area is needed, as well as a calm and reassuring manner to ease the anxieties of those around.