Blood Test Delays due to Shortages. Interesting and Probably Relevant to us

[Bcol]

BBC News - NHS stops some blood tests due to vial shortages

bbc.co.uk/news/business-583...

[PMRpro Ambassador]

I believe it is a shortage of one particular anticoagulant that is the problem. But they will use it as a general get-out ...

[piglette in reply to PMRpro]

No it is a shortage of test tubes. We had a post on this recently and someone was having a blood test and the people giving it knew nothing about the shortage.

[MrsNails]

Just read this on Medscape

NHS Issues Blood Test Tube Shortage Guidance

Tim Locke

August 26, 2021

Doctors have been issued guidance to reduce use of some blood tests for 3 months due to a UK-wide shortage of collection tubes.

The main supplier to the NHS, Becton Dickinson, has reported serious supply chain issues, NHS England said there was also a global shortage and COVID-19 has increased the volume of testing.

NHS England asked doctors to:

Increase the time between some regular blood tests if it is clinically safe to do so

Stop vitamin D testing apart from in "very exceptional circumstances"

Defer routine infertility testing

They added that routine wellness screening, such as for pre-diabetes, and allergy testing were not current priorities.

Delayed Diagnosis

Dr David Wrigley, deputy chair of the BMA council, said: "While NHS England has provided some guidance for clinicians to follow, no doctor wants the consequence of delayed diagnosis for patients due to these shortages, and they also need to know they are protected from any possible negligence claims. We need to have adequate supplies of these tubes resumed, without further delay, and it is vital, going forward, that processes are put in place to ensure that supply chains of medical equipment are maintained at all times."

Similar guidance was issued in Wales. Dr David Bailey, chair of BMA Cymru Wales, commented: "All general practices have been advised to only keep up to 2 week's supply of bottles to avoid stockpiling, and to not collect blood if patients are referred straight to secondary care, along with a list of other measures.

"We have raised our concerns about the impact this could have on regular tests for NHS Health checks, the monitoring of quality of care, and medication reviews particularly as some patients will have gone without their routine chronic disease monitoring reviews during the COVID-19 pandemic."

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to MrsNails]

I'm surprised that they are saying stop vit D testing - as far as I know they don't NEED a bottle for that! The Midlands NHS lab that does both NHS and private testing uses the paper blot collection technique.

[MrsNails in reply to PMRpro]

My last one was done in the same samples as my MTX Tests? I wonde if they’ll change that as we are already on two monthly instead of monthly……

[Bcol in reply to MrsNails]

Suspect I won't be getting my next blood test any time soon. Not too worried though, as not got any problems. (as far as I know)!!

[piglette]

We had a post on this a couple of weeks ago healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...

[Koalajane]

I am going for blood tests in 3 weeks time for my diabetic review, hope that happens

[Cally55]

I had my routine bloods a fortnight ago, including vit d. The only difference was that the phlebotomist used 2 tubes instead of 3. She said the lab had worked out how to use less tubes! The bad news is that the results require a non urgent gp appointment.In shorter supply are gp appointments, initially the first appointment I could get was 6 October, this morning I have got one via the internet with a different doctor in a fortnight. That will be a month after the tests.

I think the GPs are doing their best its just that the whole NHS is under huge pressure. However it does seem that the more tech savvy of us probably do better in getting to see someone which is not exactly helping the "vulnerable" is it?

[Bcol in reply to Cally55]

At least its a non urgent appointment, so nothing too much to worry about. The doctors problem seems very patchy around the country or possibly just how well organised different surgeries are.

[Purplegloss in reply to Bcol]

I am having a CRP and ESR blood test in a few weeks' time ordered by my Rheumy, and asked my GP by email if Vit D could be added to the test as the last test was abnormal, and was told that I couldn't have it done because of test tube shortages. I am taking 4000 iu Vit D, but just wanted to see if it had improved.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Purplegloss]

As I say - don't get it since the NHS also uses the lab I put the link up for - and they don't use bottles for the sample.

[Bcol]

Yey, I guess that is the reply we are all likely to get