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Hospitals and GPs in England are forced to ration blood tests as the NHS struggles to cope with a severe shortage of plastic sample bottles which are then sent to a lab for analysis.
Some general practitioner offices have stopped giving patients routine blood tests to assess the health of people with heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. In some places, GP offices have had to call patients to tell them not to show up for pre-booked blood tests due to the problem.
Hospitals are also asking general practitioners in their area to cut the number of tests they perform to try to conserve supplies, which are dangerously low in many places, by more than 50%.
The medical director of an acute care hospital in Hampshire told colleagues in an email that although he has cut blood tests by 16%, a ‘bigger and more dramatic’ contraction ‘across the board’ is still necessary because “the supply shortage is 60%. % reduction ”on usual stocks.
GPs told the Guardian they expected to run out of bottles of blood next week. NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Affairs (DHSC) are urgently trying to obtain additional supplies. But some doctors fear the shortage will last until the end of the year.
NHS England has previously told doctors to stop testing in “clinically non-urgent” cases involving allergies, vitamin D levels, “routine well-being” including prediabetes and levels high cholesterol and also infertility, except for women over 35, until the “supply disruption” is resolved. That was in guidelines released on August 10 that said the suspension of such testing was to ensure emergency care was not interrupted.
He highlighted “global shortages of blood tube products” and asked GPs and hospitals at risk of running out of supplies within 48 hours to let them know so that additional supplies can be arranged.
Doctors fear that the sudden restrictions could lead to late diagnosis of diseases, which could make treatment of patients more difficult and their outcome more uncertain.
The problem arose because Becton Dickinson, who supplies most of the blood collection tubes used by the NHS in England, can no longer supply his usual amounts. He blamed unprecedented demand caused by the large number of people being tested for Covid-19 and the testing of people whose treatments have been delayed due to the pandemic disrupting NHS services.
A Bristol GP said: “Our supplies will be exhausted by next week and we don’t know what will happen next. Blood tests are now only carried out on a strictly very urgent basis.
“Not all low-level blood is done, such as annual clinical blood tests for blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes tests.
“Each blood test already booked is examined by our nurses. All [blood test] specifically requested by the surgical or hospital doctor is sent to the general practitioner to check whether [it’s] really necessary.
The shortage has created “a level of risk” for the GP, his colleagues and their patients, as they might not be able to diagnose the disease because, under pressure to cut back, they were unable to order a test. . This could lead to late detection of diseases such as diabetes, thyroid disease and anemia, she added.
Karen O’Reilly, GP in Hampshire, said: “This is a huge problem. As physicians, we are very concerned about how this will affect patient care and safety. Panic may be a slight exaggeration – but, in the absence of accurate information and transparency about the situation, it is not far off.
“We fear that our supplies [at the surgery] may run out in about 10 days. If we run out of bottles, I guess hospitals will too. I cannot envision a safe functioning health service without access to blood and biochemical tests.
Dr David Wrigley, vice chairman of the board of the British Medical Association, said: “Although NHS England has provided advice to clinicians, no doctor wants the consequence of delayed diagnosis for patients in because of these shortages. “
A spokesperson for Becton Dickinson told the BBC it faces logistical hurdles in its manufacturing capacity, including shortages of raw materials and transportation issues. They added, “We are balancing the frequency of preventive maintenance leading up to the plant shutdown to provide a continuous supply of products, and we work closely with our raw material suppliers, shipping agencies and others. third parties needed to minimize supply interruptions. “
NHS England and DHSC have been approached for their responses.
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