Photo: Central Adelaide Local Health Network
Need to get a COVID jab, but got a severe case of needle phobia?
A new Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) initiative will look to help members of the community with severe needle phobia.
The service is set to help people get their COVID-19 jabs.
Specialist Vaccination Clinic Nurse Unit Manager Melanie said it’s helped patients who wouldn’t have been able to access the COVID-19 vaccination anywhere else.
“It’s been very successful, and we’ve managed to vaccinate 17 patients so far with fortnightly lists happening,” Melanie said.
“We have been able to build a program that enables people to be vaccinated in a safe and supportive manner. To have been a part of this has been an honour.”
The RAH’s Specialist Vaccination Clinic have worked closely with operating theatre anaesthetists and created a program where clients can be booked in for sedation, then given the vaccine while under.
Specialist Vaccination Nurse Consultant Aida said it’s been a rewarding experience to watch the clinic expand into meeting the needs of a community group who had not been able to be vaccinated.
“When we see the outcomes and relief on both families and patients faces the fact that they have overcome their fears and managed to walk through the doors shows that they have put their trust into us and for me that is very rewarding,” Aida said.
Bernadine is the mother of Josh who recently received his second vaccination under sedation.
She was extremely impressed with the process and said Josh, who is autistic, was never in distress.
“We tried to have Josh vaccinated four times in Mt Gambier and he’d go in, sit down and roll his sleeve up but as soon as he saw the needle, he wasn’t having a bar of it,” Bernadine said.
“Our GP then referred us to the Royal Adelaide Hospital. He’s been much better with it than I thought he would be, and I think that’s down to the organisation of it.
“It was quick, they’re not out for very long and the staff were all very aware of his additional needs and that helped. The staff have all been fabulous, from the front desk to the nurses and anaesthetists.”
The vaccination under sedation service helps people who can’t attend a mass vaccination clinic. This can include people with a disability, anxiety or severe needle phobias.
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