Elderly FIL and blood test

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My elderly FIL had a blood test booked for yesterday, which was due to take place in the Phlebotomy dept of his local hospital. He turned up and when it was his turn, was told by the phlebotomist that they could not take his bloods because he had not brought his 'blood form' with him. This is a piece of paper which apparently details the type of blood test he needs. So, he had to go home and I've rebooked it for him.

Is this standard procedure or did he encounter a jobs worth? Surely all the info regarding his blood test is held on the NHS computer? It's 2024, not 1994! I'm really
annoyed that an 86 year old man was turned away and that the staff could not have found a solution to this non problem. AIBU?

Standard procedure here.

They don't know what tests to do without it.

There's no such thing as 'The NHS computer' as they all use different systems.

completely standard.

Who booked the original blood test as they should be aware of the procedure.

There is no ‘NHS computer’. Diffrent Trusts and GP practices all use different programs. Also the request paper not only tells what blood to take (therefore which type of bottle to use) but also goes with the blood to the lab to show it’s been requested by an authorised clinician. It seems the person who gave him the form should possibly have explained that better to him.

Standard in my trust. You have to get the form from GP and take it to appointment or they cannot do the test.

The blood form has a barcode on it.
Standard procedure but i do agree the system needs an overhaul

Standard here too.

There is no real single entity that is “The NHS”, let alone a centralised “The NHS Computer”. The NHS is a loose affiliation of different providers, different services, different commissioners, all with their own budgets and systems and paperwork. It’s nuts but will cost a fortune to fix.

Yes, absolutely standard in every hospital/phlebotomy clinic I’ve attended or worked in.

Same with my hospital.....no form no blood test done

Not only is there not a central system but some hospitals have several and in some places, hospitals that work together/share departments will have several systems, none of which talk to each other (Sheffield Northern and Hallam... I am looking at you!)

So yes someone should have explained he needed that bit of paper with him.

standard procedure. The form details what tests aka what bottles need filling.

If he didn't take the form, they don't know what bottles to fill as some tests require separate bottles as they have different stuff in them to "preserve" the blood, so it's clotted/not clotted etc.

No form, no blood test.

Who ordered the blood test. Without a form they wouldn't know but in an ideal world they'd be a joined up system or quick call to the person who ordered the test

Standard. I'm not allowed to do your blood test if you don't have the paper form with you. & when I book them for patients I tell them lots of times to bring the form otherwise we can't do it. I think I over do it because my patients are children & it's extra stressful sometimes

You need the form as it tells the phlebotomist which bloods are needed

"A quick call" is as much of a unicorn as "the NHS computer". There is very little chance to get a hold of GP even on dedicated clinical line. Even outside of the GP practice, if a colleague from another department tries to call me, they would be very lucky to catch me at a time when I am not with a patient.

Completely standard procedure

Also if a patient doesn't have I really do try to get it either emailed from the gp or if one of our consultants requested it then we can't ask if they would do another one. But that then delays the whole clinic for all those other patients & you can't guarantee that that dr is in or that the gp will email it to you in time. Different tests need different bottles & some need to be stored differently/sent immediately. I'd love there to be one central system but it just isn't like that. I can think of 7 off the top of my head that I use, & I'm only a health care assistant!

Standard procedure here. But they don't always make it clear that you have to bring a form which is really frustrating

They are not being awkward . It depends where you live Vs where you are getting tested.so I don't need a form for my local place, but other people living out of area do. And by out of area they may actually live closer to the blood place than me , but their GP is linked to a different trust.

It seems to be standard, but what a load of outdated, convoluted bollocks. A waste of the OP's time, her FIL's time and the phlebotomist's time - and the FIL is no closer to getting the results of the tests than he was when he was initially referred (and presumably the FIL now has to go back to the GP, get another referral letter, wait for an appointment and then make plans to get to the hospital again).

Where I live (in Europe) if the GP decides that I need a blood test, he takes it there and then and sends it off. Or if he's busy (which he very rarely is) he'll ask the practice nurse to do it - having printed off the requirements letter so she knows which bottle/tube to use and where to send the sample.

Never experienced this but it sounds like something from fifty years ago. The NHS is really bizarre sometimes.

It's such a waste of everyone's time. What an inefficient system. I didn't realise information is not held on a centralised database. How can this be, in 2024?

Because at some point (maybe 10 years or so ago) the government spent billions trying to centralise the database and then abandoned the project. Quite why they wanted to create a new system rather than picking one well-designed system already in use, I haven't a clue.
I am surprised you are surprised to learn this. It was quite a big deal at the time.
Yes, the system is crap and we waste a lot of clinical time due to this. "The doctor didn't even read my notes" - 99% of the time there are no notes to read.

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/nhs-pulls-the-plug-on-its-ps11bn-it-system-2330906.html#:~:text=A%20plan%20to%20create%20the%20world%27s%20largest%20single,after%20running%20up%20billions%20of%20pounds%20in%20bills.

I've had several blood tests in the last few months and haven't needed a form for any of them!

The practise nurse has all the details on her computer/in her files and just brings it up before she does the test

That’s different, the PN has the form and sends both form and blood off to the lab.