For carers: Preparing for their appointment

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There are lots of different way to help the person you care for prepare for a blood test or vaccine appointment. It is very important for you and them to understand what is going to happen and why.

Try desensitisation techniques

While you must never break your skin using a needle or any other sharp object, you can prepare for a blood test or vaccination by using a syringe without a needle in it. This is called desensitisation.

You can try role playing with the person you support; one of you can pretend to be the patient and the other one pretends to be the doctor giving the injection, then swap roles.

This can help both of you to understand what will happen and when, it can also help to understand where the needle will go and at what stage in the appointment this will happen.

Meet Alex…

“Alex had twice refused to have their Covid injection so their team to did some desensitisation work, including role plays using a Calpol syringe as a pretend needle and touching that against their arm. On their third try of going to the doctors they had their vaccine.” – Alex’s support team. Name changed for anonymity

Reasonable adjustments

If the person you support need some reasonable adjustments to help make their experience more comfortable and accessible remember that it is their legal right.

You can ask for them to have their blood test or vaccine at their usual GP practice.

In some cases you can ask for them to have their vaccine in the clinic car park or even at home. But it isn’t important to scope all options with the healthcare staff first.

Visit this webpage to find out more about reasonable adjustments and start making a list of things to request from the GP surgery staff.

Meet Penny…

“Penny has autism and an aversion to medical procedures that can lead to behaviour that challenges. Her team worked with the GP to get her covid injections in the car.” – Penny’s support team. Name changed for anonymity

Make sure their appointment works for both of you

Sometimes waiting for the appointment is the most stressful part. Ask the GP surgery staff to provide you with information about what will happen on the day and what to expect during the appointment.

If they have put in reasonable adjustments then information about these and what to ask about when you arrive is useful.

Ask them to download our social story template and personalise it for their practice. You can then use this to start preparing for the journey.

Meet Calum…

“Calum was refusing to have vaccine so the community team did a social story and left it with them to think about. The GP came to visit and spent 40 minutes talking about vaccine and health. Their circle of support held a best interest meeting so they could the vaccine at home. Calum decided to have his vaccination with his support team getting a placebo at same time show him it’s ok.” – Calum’s support team. Name changed for anonymity