After waits of up to three months during the pandemic, the NHS in north east London is piloting a new service designed to speed up getting a blood test.
A “serious incident” was declared across Barking and Dagenham, Havering and Redbridge (BHR) in late 2020 after the decision to restrict which venues offered blood tests caused a huge backlog.
The NHS chose to limit hospital blood testing to in-patients only, putting extra pressure on community clinics and causing long delays for patients with even the most serious conditions like cancer.
Read more: Why Redbridge patients may not get tests in Waltham Forest
Last June, a pilot community blood testing service was launched by North East London CCG (NEL CCG), with the goal of reducing wait times to a maximum of seven days for all patients and the same day or next for urgent patients.
Figures provided to Havering’s health overview and scrutiny sub-committee on March 16 show 91% of appointments in BHR were carried out within a week in January this year.
Director of transformation at NEL CCG Tracy Rubery called the past delays a “dire situation” but added: “We have [now] got very good patient feedback, the results show over 95% of patients are having a good experience.
“When we first put the pilot in the aim was to get all tests done within two weeks, actually we’re far exceeding that. The service is being really well utilised.”
Patients are encouraged to book online, as they will receive text message reminders, but telephone booking is also possible.
Walk-in appointments will be available “when it is safe to do so”, the committee heard.
Local watchdog Healthwatch Havering’s executive director Ian Buckmaster said he no longer has patients contacting “moaning about poor service or getting blood tests”. He added: “Well done to those who put it together, because it has worked.”
At the time of the delays the NEL CCG, who decide how money is spent on community healthcare in north east London, said they were caused by a lack of funding and a backlog from handling the Covid pandemic.
They blamed the poor quality of community health services on “a historic and chronic under-investment in out of hospital support for patients, with a lack of focus on prevention and early intervention”.
It is hoped that bringing all NHS organisations in east London under one organisation in July this year will improve health services, as well as waiting times at Queen’s and King George Hospitals, which are the worst in the country for the most serious type of emergency treatment.
Further detail on blood tests in north east London can be found here: https://northeastlondonccg.nhs.uk/your-health/blood-tests/
https://www.guardian-series.co.uk/news/20009540.pilot-improves-havering-redbridge-blood-test-speeds/
