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Phlebotomy, Child: RFL
NCL WideThe Royal Free London (RFL) child phlebotomy service is an appointment-based service. You must book the child's blood test appointment in advance. There is no walk-in service. See Locations for details of each RFL hospital's service.
Slots are longer in the children's phlebotomy service to allow for individuals who might be nervous/need additional support; for those older children more confident with the process, adult service appointments are available.
Please note: Due to infection control rules, only one adult can accompany the child. Upon arrival to the clinic, the parent, guardian or adult accompanying the child will be asked to consent to the blood being taken.
GPs are encouraged to discuss urgent requests via Consultant Connect or with a paediatrician.
RFL child phlebotomy services are operating at pre-Covid capacity in all areas, except at Edgware Hospital, where the aim was to re-instate the service in May 2023. Additional phlebotomy slots have been built into the weekday clinics at the Royal Free, Chase Farm and Barnet Hospitals to reduce waiting times, and a series of Saturday clinics are also being run. These clinics will stop when the wait times are reduced to four weeks for non-urgent appointments.
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusions
- children aged 0-16.
How to Refer
Barnet Hospital urgent and routine bloods
Referral for both urgent and routine bloods is via email to the address above or phone call via t: 020 8216 5201.
Chase Farm Hospital urgent bloods
Referral for urgent bloods is via email to the address above or phone call via t: 020 8216 4933.
Royal Free Hospital urgent bloods
Appointments should be pre booked via the Swiftqueue platform. Patients should be reminded to bring the paper copy of the request to avoid rescheduling.
Urgent appointments are not available online. For urgent tests, please contact one of our paediatricians on 020 7794 0500, bleep 1000.
A walk-in service is not provided, and forms marked as urgent will not be accepted.
Royal Free and Chase Farm Hospital routine bloods
For routine appointments at Royal Free and Chase Farm Hospitals, book via the link above.
Locations
Barnet Hospital
Monday to Friday availability. Routine bloods waiting time: four weeks. All children aged 10+ years can be booked into an adult phlebotomy clinic at Barnet or Chase Farm Hospital via Swiftqueue (routine bloods waiting time: one working day).
Chase Farm Hospital
Tuesday to Friday availability. Routine bloods waiting time: nine weeks. All children aged 10+ years can be booked into an adult phlebotomy clinic at Barnet or Chase Farm Hospital via Swiftqueue (routine bloods waiting time: one working day).
Edgware Community Hospital
No paediatric bloods are done at Edgware at present (planning is underway to reinstate the pre-pandemic service).
Royal Free Hospital
Tuesday to Friday availability. Routine bloods waiting time: six weeks. All children aged 16+ can be booked into an RFH adult phlebotomy clinic via Swiftqueue (routine bloods waiting time: one week). Work is underway to reduce the age to 10+
Service Feedback
Resources
Related Services
Phlebotomy, Child: NMUH
Children's phlebotomy services provided by NMUH EnfieldHaringeyPhlebotomy, Child: UCLH
Children's phlebotomy services provided by UCLH CamdenPhlebotomy, Child: WH
Children's phlebotomy services provided by Whittington Health NCL WideRelated Topics View All
Children, Young People & Family
Services for CYP across NCLPhlebotomy
Information about phlebotomy services across NCLReview date: Friday, 04 July 2025