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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask what would happen if blood test tubes runout

148 replies

Whocareswherewego76 · 28/08/2021 00:22

I know there is a shortage but what happens if they run our.

OP posts:
Sonarl · 28/08/2021 00:28

I think they have haven't they?

SeoultoSeoul · 28/08/2021 00:36

It's just ridiculous that this is happening. You'd think procurement teams would have learned from the PPE scandal.

NotMyCat · 28/08/2021 00:39

I went for bloods today and the staff there said they have no issues which seemed odd
My bloods today took 5 tubes so I can see how they get through them mega quickly!

TheCanyon · 28/08/2021 00:40

I hope not, dh is on chemo drugs and his last bloods (tues) showed liver changes.

Clocktopus · 28/08/2021 00:47

This is what medical staff have been asking and, according to reports, they have yet to be given an answer.

Pottedpalm · 28/08/2021 03:28

DD got a message from her GP yesterday saying routine bloods wouldn’t be taken, only investigative ones. ( not exact wording).

YeOldeTrout · 28/08/2021 04:14

I spoke to a GP yesterday who thinks it's quite major crisis if not sorted quickly.

NotAnotherPushyMum · 28/08/2021 04:18

@SeoultoSeoul

It's just ridiculous that this is happening. You'd think procurement teams would have learned from the PPE scandal.
It seems like it’s a global shortage so nothing directly to do with nhs procurement.
LizzieMacQueen · 28/08/2021 04:41

There's another thread here too,

No routine blood tests for the foreseeable future www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/4333704-No-routine-blood-tests-for-the-foreseeable-future

Willyoujustbequiet · 28/08/2021 05:53

My GP announced yesterday on social media that all blood tests to be stopped unless classed as life threatening.

hashbrownsandwich · 28/08/2021 06:00

Phlebotomist here. No issues at my surgery currently.

Realistically if there was a shortage we would prioritise things like chemo bloods and INRs. Things that genuinely need close monitoring rather than things like annual medication bloods. A lot of people were shielding last year and didn't attend for their yearly bloods, most have now, so it wouldn't be horrendous in that situation again.

SexTrainGlue · 28/08/2021 07:11

The priorisation is AFAIK haem patients, cancer patients, urgent investigations, and monitoring of those on certain potentially toxic drugs.

Some areas - Wales - are already facing shortages, but the call to conserve stocks is a national one, as supplies might be moved round. Despite the seemingly iron grip of the post-code lottery, no-one is going to leave Welsh patients to die or have potentially severe impairment from unsafe or paused treatment so that their areas can continue non-urgent tests.

(Note - it's urgency that matters, and that's not a synonym for importance)

3Br1tnee · 28/08/2021 07:21

Maybe they'll have to go back to reusable ones and clean and sterilise them.

They should be looking to do this for everything where possible anyway really.

knittingaddict · 28/08/2021 07:31

@Pottedpalm

DD got a message from her GP yesterday saying routine bloods wouldn’t be taken, only investigative ones. ( not exact wording).
We got the same message yesterday. I'm overdue for my annual blood tests Blush so assume that won't be happening for a while. My husband has just had his latest post cancer blood test thank goodness.
girlmom21 · 28/08/2021 07:34

@Willyoujustbequiet

My GP announced yesterday on social media that all blood tests to be stopped unless classed as life threatening.
This is pretty scary really considering the reasons for routine blood tests are to monitor changes in people with long term conditions, generally.
Theunamedcat · 28/08/2021 07:43

Why are we not reusing them? They are glass?

Coulddowithanap · 28/08/2021 07:46

There's a lot of items used that should be sterilised and reused. I was shocked when my friend (who's a nurse) said their scissors are disposed of after one use. It's crazy and so wasteful.

SW1amp · 28/08/2021 07:50

@Theunamedcat

Why are we not reusing them? They are glass?
The Vacunatior ones most commonly used are plastic

It’s not just an empty glass tube that can be washed out and put back into circulation
Even if they were reused, they would have to be manufactured - they have liquids in them which are anticoagulants, they are vacuum sealed and have rubber sealed which cannot be reused

PurpleCloak · 28/08/2021 07:52

@Theunamedcat

Why are we not reusing them? They are glass?
The amount of waste in the NHS is appalling
Fishbank · 28/08/2021 07:53

@SeoultoSeoul

It's just ridiculous that this is happening. You'd think procurement teams would have learned from the PPE scandal.
I mean since they were notified they have been scrambling around trying to sort it, or do you mean that during a global shortage when no alternative yet exists they didn't craft them themselves?
Fishbank · 28/08/2021 07:56

@Theunamedcat

Why are we not reusing them? They are glass?
They're not glass. They need to be sterile otherwise the sample risks being contaminated which won't give accurate results and renders the process pointless. At a push you could look into every site that uses them having industrial washers that wash at a very high temp, which would probably be more or less a full time job and crap for the environment.

Agree there is wastage, but this isn't one of those things that can just have a little wash and be reused.

AlbertBridge · 28/08/2021 08:01

At a push you could look into every site that uses them having industrial washers that wash at a very high temp

Like a dishwasher, basically? They wash hot enough to sterilise.

Badbadbunny · 28/08/2021 08:07

@Fishbank At a push you could look into every site that uses them having industrial washers that wash at a very high temp,

Dental surgeries have sterilisers for their drill bits, scalpels, etc - if a small dental practice can afford them, and staff them, I'm sure GP surgeries and hospitals could do the same to start reducing all the waste they produce.

Fishbank · 28/08/2021 08:10

Do you have any idea how many are used in these settings? Also I agree that there are more pieces of equipment that could be looked into reusing and putting in place the processes and appliances needed for this- these vials ain't it.

SW1amp · 28/08/2021 08:12

[quote Badbadbunny]**@Fishbank* At a push you could look into every site that uses them having industrial washers that wash at a very high temp,*

Dental surgeries have sterilisers for their drill bits, scalpels, etc - if a small dental practice can afford them, and staff them, I'm sure GP surgeries and hospitals could do the same to start reducing all the waste they produce.[/quote]
But they are made from single-use plastic

It’s not designed to, nor is it capable of withstanding the temperatures required to properly sterilise

Go and out an empty coke bottle in your dishwasher and see what happens… you wouldn’t want to reuse it afterwards

Then there is still the issue of the anticoagulant agents added in, and the vacuum seal. This isn’t blood letting into a kidney dish!