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Original poster

GP - no blood bottles left

32 replies

Sweetnhappy1 · 27/09/2021 09:39

GP here. Our practice has now run out of blood bottles. We had originally cut right down to urgent blood tests only but now we can't even do those. We had 10 bottles delivered last week. We have 10,000 patients. This is also linked to HGV/Brexit issues but the press is just full of fuel issues

OP posts:
olympicsrock · 27/09/2021 09:40

Dreadful isn’t it. Secondary care has also been rationed for the last month. ( surgeon)

girlmom21 · 27/09/2021 09:45

Stupid question: can we not make use of the bags that the blood donation service use?

SquareYellow · 27/09/2021 09:48

Saw this and want to shout it from the roof tops.
Sorry General practice is getting such a shit time for no reason.

GP - no blood bottles left

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OhYouBadBadKitten · 27/09/2021 09:50

I thought this issue was supposed to be getting better :(
I can't imagine how GPs are supposed to do their job when they can't even do the most basic of tests on people.

Theunamedcat · 27/09/2021 09:52

My gp said there is no shortage he has booked in for more bloods we repeated the last ones and we will probably have to repeat these

ReeseWitherfork · 27/09/2021 09:55

What happens now?! People referred to the hospital? Who will inevitably run out shortly too?

Quidity · 27/09/2021 10:00

OP, I agree, the situation is dreadful in many parts of the NHS and it really doesn't get the priority it deserves Angry

Greenhand · 27/09/2021 10:23

I understood the bottles could be recycled. I assume they mean melted down etc.
My local hospital ran a blood test centre at a park and ride site - so when I needed urgent bloods done I had to drive there. Long queues but it worked. That was a few week ago when things weren't so bad.
What on earth happens now?
People will die as blood tests can pick up on things that need urgent investigation. As a GP I don't know what you can do. It must be immensely frustrating.
As an aside, I think my DD fractured a big toe over the summer. At the time I wasn't sure, we were on holiday and I strapped it up - there was a lot of covid so didn't want to go to hospital for something where I expected the answer to be strap it up. 10 weeks later, it's still a problem and may have healed incorrectly. A telephone consult is not going to help. If it's healed incorrectly, nothing can be done - I anticipate years of waiting. DD is still waiting on a referral for another op she was referred for 15 months ago. She's a runner and she's in pain a lot of the time but that's what it has come to.
The NHS is broken despite all the wonderful staff who work there. The fundamental organisational aspects are beyond repair.

Chloemol · 27/09/2021 10:24

It’s got damn all to do with Brexit. It’s an INTERNATIONAL shortage

And all the surgeries in my area are more or less back to normal

So maybe your Practice manager needs to do their job

Original poster
Sweetnhappy1 · 27/09/2021 10:28

@Chloemol

It’s got damn all to do with Brexit. It’s an INTERNATIONAL shortage

And all the surgeries in my area are more or less back to normal

So maybe your Practice manager needs to do their job

It's nothing to do with our practice manager. We are allocated the bottles and only got 10 last week. The whole of South West London is the same right now.

Other countries are not having problems with doing urgent bloods. Ask doctors in European countries, if they are worried about a patient they can get a blood test.

OP posts:
Original poster
Sweetnhappy1 · 27/09/2021 10:30

@Greenhand

I understood the bottles could be recycled. I assume they mean melted down etc. My local hospital ran a blood test centre at a park and ride site - so when I needed urgent bloods done I had to drive there. Long queues but it worked. That was a few week ago when things weren't so bad. What on earth happens now? People will die as blood tests can pick up on things that need urgent investigation. As a GP I don't know what you can do. It must be immensely frustrating. As an aside, I think my DD fractured a big toe over the summer. At the time I wasn't sure, we were on holiday and I strapped it up - there was a lot of covid so didn't want to go to hospital for something where I expected the answer to be strap it up. 10 weeks later, it's still a problem and may have healed incorrectly. A telephone consult is not going to help. If it's healed incorrectly, nothing can be done - I anticipate years of waiting. DD is still waiting on a referral for another op she was referred for 15 months ago. She's a runner and she's in pain a lot of the time but that's what it has come to. The NHS is broken despite all the wonderful staff who work there. The fundamental organisational aspects are beyond repair.
If I had a telephone consult with your daughter, I would then either often a face to face or text you an x-ray form and ask her to do that first. If it was a fracture, physio can help.
OP posts:
LowlyTheWorm · 27/09/2021 10:30

If there are plenty elsewhere in the UK why. Can’t practices just share them out? No shortage of them here in Scotland for example.

Shitfuckcommaetc · 27/09/2021 10:36

What area are you in OP? Obviously don't be too specific.

But I wonder why this isn't the same across the board, and is it more to do with logistics. Lack of hgv drivers again?

MardyBoudoir · 27/09/2021 10:37

There are no shortages in The Netherlands. It seems it’s another Brexit benefit.

zafferana · 27/09/2021 10:58

I live just north of London and anyone in our area needs a blood test we have to go to the local hospital. Is that an option for your patients?

Original poster
Sweetnhappy1 · 27/09/2021 12:23

@zafferana

I live just north of London and anyone in our area needs a blood test we have to go to the local hospital. Is that an option for your patients?
No. In our CCG the hospital will only take bloods for patients who have attended appointments there. We used to be able to send to the hospital like in your area, this changed here a couple of years ago.
OP posts:
zafferana · 27/09/2021 17:04

It feels like the whole country is grinding to a halt again just when we all hoped it would be able to get back to normal. Supply chain failures and shortages, not enough HGV drivers to make deliveries, empty spaces on supermarket shelves, panic buying of fuel making everything worse. It's not good enough and I'm still not entirely sure why it's happening. Everyone keeps saying it's not Brexit/Covid, but it just seems like a perfect storm of interrelated circumstances leading to a complete shitshow!

Musicaltheatremum · 27/09/2021 17:16

@SquareYellow we are all fed up with the vile coverage and misinformation about GPs.

Friday was the busiest day of my 30 year GP career. It is just crazy.

Also

We were told to stop "seeing" patients without triage but that doesn't mean we weren't seeing them. I have seen patients throughout the pandemic.

I now get patients complaining when I ask them to come in to be examined as they can't be bothered...they just want something over the phone!!!

Also the government want us to offer alternatives to face to face but that doesn't mean we can offer more.

I can see 18 patients in a surgery but takes just as long if I see 18 or see 9 and speak to 9. A consultation is a consultation it's not a shorter appointment...in fact it's often longer as you're not getting visual clues.

I also can't deal with 18 patients plus 20 econsults it's 18 in total no more. We need a cap on what we can see in a day to keep it safe.

I remember a hairdresser telling me a story that someone asked her for a "quick" haircut...she asked if they wanted a proper cut and said if it were quick it wouldn't be as good. Same in medicine!

KurtWilde · 27/09/2021 17:28

I'm in Yorkshire and was supposed to have repeat blood tests for what could be quite a serious issue, but without the repeat test we just don't know. Health centre has now said the repeat won't happen. The receptionist was awful about it actually.

SquareYellow · 27/09/2021 18:21

@Chloemol

It’s got damn all to do with Brexit. It’s an INTERNATIONAL shortage

And all the surgeries in my area are more or less back to normal

So maybe your Practice manager needs to do their job

Unfortunately that is incorrect. Britain gets 100% of its blood bottles from one supplier. That one supplier does supply countries around the world, but say they only supply 20% of Country X’s needs and country X gets 80% from 3 other suppliers not in the U.K. Country X just gets more from their other 3 suppliers to cover the missing X. So the U.K. government are saying it’s a worldwide problem, technically it is, but Britain is the only one in the world with no supplies. We have no one else to supply us now. But worldwide problem is a better soundbite.
SnowyMouse · 27/09/2021 18:28

Luckily I got my routine bloods today.

SaintDrogo · 27/09/2021 19:42

Ours are back to normal now (Scotland) . I have weekly bloods done due to being part of a trial and for September they were cancelled, but as of today it’s business as normal.

housemdwaswrong · 27/09/2021 20:11

I had a lumbar puncture this week, and the staff were discussing how low they are on bottles and were rationing them. This in a neurology day unit of a big hospital.

Madwife123 · 27/09/2021 20:39

We are back to normal now in the hospital I work in. 2 weeks ago we were told urgent bloods only and now it’s all fine. Not sure why your practice doesn’t have bottles.

KurtWilde · 27/09/2021 20:41

I've been told they don't know when there'll be any bottles and I'll just have to wait. I understand their hands are tied, but I also don't want to become one of the countless people who fall through the cracks with diagnosis of something that may be quite serious because of lack of proper GP care.