Zinc blood test on nhs

[QandA]

Hi,

Has anyone had a zinc blood test on the NHS and if so, was it ordered by GP or endo?

[Babette]

My GP checks mine.

[QandA in reply to Babette]

Thanks Babette. Mine claim the NHS won't do it unless a consultant orders it, but only thought to tell me this when the result just didn't appear with the other results. I thought it sounded like BS. I am beginning to wonder what the point of them is at all, they never seem to be able to do anything unless asked by someone else.

[Babette in reply to QandA]

Have you asked your CCG? I caught a GP telling porkies when he blamed a CCG policy but they confirmed it wasn't.

[QandA in reply to Babette]

Thanks, I didn't even know about CCGs, will ask them if I get nowhere with GPs. Saw one on Thursday and she was going to get them to phone the lab and ask why it hadn't been done and see if they blood sample was still there (unlikely now, I tried to get them to do this last week but unfortunately it was the wrong GP being asked and reception won't do anything on their own). Wish it wasn't such a case of pot luck with GPs, some are awful, some more helpful.

[Babette in reply to QandA]

It sounds similar to a problem I had with T3 testing. If I have my bloods done where I live, it goes to the lab, who look at TSH and only if that's out, will look at FT4. They ignore FT3 even if it's asked for. If I have my bloods done where I work, which comes under a different CCG, it goes to a different lab who will test FT3 if it's on the form. I've been warned that it might take a bit longer for the results to get to my GP but I've not noticed any delay. The two CCGs are part of a "CCG of CCGs" though; I don't know whether that makes a difference.

It's a crazy minefield. Sometimes I think it's intentionally that way to confuse patients (and GPs).