Making the most of your phlebotomy and vein finding skills
The NHS
A phlebotomist in the NHS is normally paid as a band 2 or band 3. Working in the NHS can be fantastic experience, and a lot of people love the camaraderie, the feeling that comes with knowing you are helping real people, and the relatively stress free job. It can be monotonous, but in a good way, a 5 hour shift can fly by and you barely notice that home time has arrived. But it is not very well paid.
Whether you use your skills in the evenings and weekends, or take the brave step to strike out on your own, there is a lot of potential opportunities that can be unlocked through the simple of skill of being able to find a vein.
The Potential
The most I ever earned, as a phlebotomist, in one day, was £1,820! I must stress that this was one very good day, not every day can be this good, but it is a good example of the potential.
This was when I worked collecting stem cells from babies when they are born. You’re paid per collection in that job, and I still hold the company record for 13 collections in one 24hr period.
But that is an extreme example, so what is more realistic?
Depending on whether you’re just doing collections in your spare time, or setting up your own clinic, your potential income can vary. As a freelance phlebotomist collecting bloods in my spare time, I can earn anywhere from £400 – £750 extra a month to supplement my other income.
By working a couple of hours a day in my own clinic, I can earn over £100 an hour. If I offer more specialist services, like venesection / therapeutic blood letting, IV vitamin therapy, or PRP facials, I can charge £100s.
Becoming a Freelance Phlebotomist
Agencies
You can register with various agencies and networks, like ours, by filling in our recruitment form, or advertise your local services in your local community. You can take blood for patients that have a blood form from their GP, to return the bloods to the GP, or to take directly to the pathology lab in the hospital. Or you can take bloods from people have have ordered a testing kit from places like Medichecks (don’t forget our discount code of BLOODS10).
Clinics
You can offer your services on a mobile basis. But you don’t have to go to great expense to set up a bricks and mortar clinic. You can simply rent a room in a local health centre or hair / beauty salon. This cost as little as £10 an hour, with no ongoing commitments.
Of course if you start getting really busy, and start offering a range of services, you can rent a whole unit. Or set up a small clinical space at your own home.
CQC
If you are offering actual blood tests, where you will give the results to your patients, then you will need to register with the CQC. This is a very lengthy, and potentially expensive process. But if you are just taking bloods from patients, for them to return to their clinic, GP, or lab, then there is no CQC requirement.
Other Registration
A phlebotomist does not have to register with any particular body, like a nurse or other health care professional does. However, it will reassure your patients, and give you more credibility if you you opt in to one of the associations that exist for phlebotomists, like the National Association of Phlebotomists, or the Phlebotomy Association.
Insurance
You will need to get insurance as a self-employed phlebotomist. The associations above offer insurance as part of their membership, or you can look at companies like MMI4U or inSync Insurance.
Insurance can cost as little as £75-£150 a year.
Equipment
You may need to buy some equipment, and a bag or case to store everything, you can get most of what you need from Medisave or even Amazon. Although the labs you work for may supply you with a lot of your equipment.
You may want to purchase some specialist equipment like a centrifuge which can be as cheap as £60-£90, or a vein finder.
Tax
If you earn over £1,000 a year from your self employed work, you will need to register with HMRC and complete a self assessment tax form. But the advantage of this is that you can claim mileage and other equipment as an expense against your tax.
You would only need to register for VAT is you turnover more than £90,000.
Other Services
Being able to find a vein means you can offer so much more than just taking blood.
IV Vitamin Therapy
If you can find a vein, you can learn to insert a cannula. And if you can learn to insert a cannula, then you can learn to administer an IV Vitamin Therapy cocktail, like the Myers cocktail.
This has the great benefit of delivering vitamins directly into the client’s blood stream, giving an instant effect for a range of benefits.
We offer business in a box courses to get you started in offering these services, which include a reputable supplier of the vitamins and equipment, a prescriber service, and all the forms and marketing materials you will need:
Wellness Therapies
Plasma Rich Platelet (PRP) Therapy / Vampire Facials
PRP facials involve taking blood from a client, spinning it in a centrifuge, then separating the plasma to inject, or micro needle it into the clients face, or hair line.
The natural collagen in the plasma helps to stimulate growth of new cells, rejuvenating the skin.
It is even used by physiotherapists in joints, or by dentists and opticians.
You already know how to take the blood, now all you need to learn is how to separate it and reinject it into the client.
Venesection / Therapeutic Blood Letting
This is a service required by many clients. Certain conditions, like hemochromatosis, create too much iron and other substances in the blood. The only way to reduce this is to take out large quantities of blood on a regular basis.
And it can have therapeutic benefits, even when not linked to a specific condition, like giving your car an oil change.
Patients with these conditions are usually recommended to donate blood, but many aren’t able to, so they might require a private service.
Again, the key skill needed here is how to find a vein and insert a needle. It just takes a bit more training to learn how to use the specialist equipment required for venesection.
Other Wellness Treatments
Once you’ve opened the door to these wellness treatments, there are many avenues you can follow. For example IV Vitamin Therapy can lead to IM (Intramuscular) B12 injections. This could lead to travel or flu vaccinations, and other injections.
Or PRP therapy could lead to other beauty and wellness treatments, like fillers and Botox.
Ongoing Support
We are happy to support any phlebotomist who is looking to maximise their income, in any way we can. Please get in touch, and we can have a chat and get you started on your journey.
There is no catch or obligation to this, we genuinely want to see as many phlebotomists do as well as possible, and believe more opportunities will naturally arise from those conversations.
Your stories
These are some ideas of how you can squeeze every last drop out of being a phlebotomist, but leave a comment if you have found any other sources of income, or other ways to make the most out of your skills.