Needle phobia--changing venepuncture practice in ambulatory care.

Needle phobia is a term used in practice to describe an anticipatory fear of needle insertion. A proportion of children display high levels of fear, pain and behavioural distress when exposed to, or anticipating, needle insertion. A difficult routine venepuncture in our ambulatory care unit led staff to review practice and develop a three-step approach to overcoming 'needle phobia': relaxation, control and graded exposure.