Phlebotomists: decreasing services & dreadful service.

[Andrea_Shapiro]

Liverpool patients can no longer use the Royal and Broadgreen Hospitals to take their blood forms to. This service used to be excellent, and bloods were taken no longer than a 15 minute wait. This ended about 6 months ago and has been a lottery ever since, trying to decide where will be the shortest waiting time. Today has to be the worst ever experience of these services. Not only did I wait an hour & 15 minutes, but she butchered my arm into the bargain. She put the tourniquet on my arm, but nowhere near tight enough, stuck a needle in my skin (just flesh), then asked if she could try the other arm. I can also see how this will work out haematology wise: I will get one of those results that are insufficient & need to get them done again. Then I shall have to wait for another hour and a half.

[earthwitch]

sounds like call for a some feedback to the service. I know folk have to learn how to do this, but any learners should be supervised and you should be able to expect a competent person. Have a chat to PALS about giving feedback (you don't have to make it a formal complaint - just say you want to give feedback on the service, or lack of it, that you got today)

[Hidden]

I had similar problems with phlebotomy clinic at our local hospital this week also, four attempts to get blood, then recalled next morning because insufficient blood been taken, sample clotted and had to be re done. On this occasion I managed to get nurse from my GP surgery to do the test and she got sample first time, bravo !!!

I should like to say I was at hospital for one hour thirty minutes waiting, and it cost £2.50 to park for the privilege. Are these phlebotomists trained adequately, our service used to be ok, shambles now !! I am also black and blue with bruising following my ghastly experience and both my hands are in full flare up with RA due to the butchering ! My GP nurse usually does my routine bloods but this was emergency testing for possible giant cell arteritis and the bloods had already been collected that day, hence urgent referral to local hospital blood clinic.

Our GPs nurses are fantastic, very kind and very experienced, bless them!!

Lynda x

[Trulyfedup]

Hi, I waited 3 hours once...the hospital manager spoke to all of us waiting...saying how sorry he was for the long wait but there were only two vampires working that day...for a hospital with over 60 of us waiting that day , I thought that having only two working was rather silly....I too am lucky that normally I have it taken at my GPs which is literally 2mins from where I live. The hospital (southend) have improved the service over the last couple of months and I believe it is a lot better.....before you just turned up and waited until your ticket number was up now you make appts and that seems to be working. Maryx

[Andrea_Shapiro in reply to Trulyfedup]

I've also waited 3 hours before today, only for it to be announced, 'Warfarin patients only to come forward, everyone else will be seen after lunch". It didn't matter when you'd taken a ticket, because your turn was gone. I did wonder if every Warfarin patient's blood would clot & congeal while we all waited, but their time was obviously more valuable than mine.

[Scottishlad]

Having to go to a hospital for routine blood tests seems daft to me. As you may guess I live in Scotland, while I have had blood samples taken during rheumy appointments all my regular monitoring tests have been done by the nurses at my GP surgery. At times I was being tested every 2 weeks whenever my MTX dose was increased. The nurses there are usually very good barely a bruise if at all.

Unless the test needs "fresh " blood or is urgent it is ridiculous to tie up hospital resources for blood tests.

Incidentally my 89 year old friend gets the district nurse round to take her bloods. She would otherwise need to get a taxi to the surgery.

Why not ask if these tests can be done at your GP surgery? If it works here why shouldn't it work where you are.

[cathie in reply to Scottishlad]

I'm in south edinburgh and we get the same. GP has several experienced sympathetic, professional nurses who do this. Best to get it done before midday as a van comes round to take the samples to the hospital for testing.

[oldtimer]

I have an excellent service at my GP surgery. I make my appointment each month as soon as I have had this one and rarely have to wait. If I have to have extra ones, they always fit me in and I have never had to wait more than about three quarters of an hour for that. And sometimes that has been twice a week when my bloods are hay-wire.

The surgery have trained several of the receptionist to take blood as well as there being a part-time mature lady (who is lovely) who comes in four mornings a week. And the nurses take bloods as well (although they are not quite as good as she is!)

I hate having them done at the hospital, a long wait, then a person who doesn't look at me and is talking to another of the phlebotomists in the room.I'm never sure they are taking it into the correct bottle or doing all the tests listed on the form as they pay so little attention to what they are doing. And I always seem to end up with a messy arm.

So I make sure that all my tests are up to date before I go the rheumy depart.

Why not have a chat with your surgery to see what they can offer? If they don't offer this service, ask if they can introduce it.

[Hidden]

My experiences are worse taking at the GP surgery rather than at the hospital. Since April the CCG have decided that we no longer go to the hospital and have to have them done at the surgery. This takes longer and each time I have to tell them exactly what the hospital want them done. They then question as to why. Last Thursday I was due to have another lot done, on arrival I found out who was doing them and immediately informed the receptionist that I would be making another appointment as I had already had a run in with that person on the phone and in person, she thinks she is IT and we are the lowly person. Sorry but without us she would be out of a job.

Whereas when I went to the hospital it was in take a ticket, request my labels that were already waiting for me by which time my number was called and away I went all in all, 15 minutes. Now it can take anything up to an hour waiting in the surgery.

[helixhelix]

Strange how you get used to things....if I only waited an hour 15 minutes for my bloods to be done I'd think I was having a great day! Round our way GPs don't do regular blood tests, and you go to the walk in service at the hospital. Who are all extremely good, and rarely cause any bruises or pain, and the system is efficient in terms of knowing what needs taking and getting the results to the consultant. The down side is that there's rarely fewer than 60 or 70 people waiting, and sometimes far more so can be hours. My longest was I think 3 hours. So you take a good book and a newspaper..... Polly

[Andrea_Shapiro]

I think the worst experience was when the phlebotomist had a Pot Noodle on the go: there it was, next to my elbow. She asked me to be careful not to knock it over.

[watson3 in reply to Andrea_Shapiro]

Sounds like PALS need to be notified of you "POT LUCK" appointment. What an atrocious way to treat a patient.

Carole

[Dogrose]

It seems to be different everywhere, we have a phlebotomy clinic at the health centre next to my GP surgery which is open every weekday though they have a two hour lunch break, or alternatively there is a phlebotomy clinic at the hospital which is open all day in the week, both are good and I've very rarely had to wait more than 15 minutes. The quality of the phlembotomists vary though, some are in and out without you feeling it, sometimes they are jabbers and it feels like they are shoving a knitting needle up your arm. xxx