Can't get an NHS blood test in my town !

[Adooree]

I have to have a blood test every Six months due to my medication / condition .
Like loads of places our town is growing and we now have have population of just over 10 000 but still the one Drs surgery .
Now we can't get a blood test because the surgery no longer does them and we have to go to the next town to have one which via car is at least 30 minutes away . God knows how they expect the elderly or infirm to get there !
Does this happen where you live ?

does your local hospital have a department for this?

yes, same here. They do tests in surgery for elderly and disabled patients. Everyone else has to go to the hospitals which are half an hour away

In my town you can either wait until the phlebotomist is at the surgery (usually a couple of week's wait) or go to the hopital at your convenience with a letter from the surgery.

Yes and it's ridiculous. If you don't have a car it's at least two buses or a train and two buses away (probably over an hours journey just to get there!). It's also moved to a health centre in a small. Shopping precinct and there's never anywhere to park. Even by car it's a 45-60 min round trip.

The Dr surgery shares the building with the cottage hospital , so even more ridiculous .

I would recommend writing to your MP about this. These services shouldn’t be withdrawn! It’s bad for the environment getting all those extra people on the road travelling elsewhere, it will cause many to just not bother, meaning their condition doesn’t get monitored properly. For some it will cause financial hardship, for others it will cause issues at work.

Request their intervention with the surgery and see if something in the middle could be brought in - maybe a weekly or monthly blood test clinic?

You are totally correct . It needs looking into .